City’s New Interactive Map Tool Provides Valuable Safety Data

The City of Carrollton Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has launched a new online Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA) tool.

The new HVA is designed so that cutting-edge technology can provide transparent access to the valuable information needed for Carrollton residents and businesses to take ownership of their own emergency planning and preparedness.

Users of the tool are able to turn on various feature layers to get an overview of what hazards are present in Carrollton and the areas they affect.

The HVA utilizes geographic information system (GIS) technology to allow Carrollton residents and business owners to search for their address on an interactive map of the City and see the hazard zones in which they are located. Users may also browse the map without entering an address, turning on and off the different feature layers to get an overview of what hazards are present and the areas they affect throughout the entire City. The map tool includes a description of each hazard zone, a tutorial on how to use the tool, and a means to print a report to a specific address if desired for inclusion in the user's own emergency plan.

Examples of entities that may find the HVA tool useful for state and federally required planning are health care, assisted living, and childcare facilities in addition to event venues, schools, and production centers. The HVA tool identifies the potential threat exposure of each facility. This information can then be used to help that facility prepare for emergencies. Individual Carrollton residents, their families, and local neighborhood associations or other civic groups are also encouraged to utilize the HVA data to help their preparedness efforts as well.

The tool is located at cityofcarrollton.com/emergencymanagement and utilizes a Story Map design that provides a description of the City, discusses recent disaster events affecting Carrollton, and then details the natural and people-made/technological hazards that may affect the area. Examples of natural hazard zones included in the HVA are FEMA floodplains, City river and creek inundation areas, and areas at risk for wildfires. Some of the people-made hazards included in the analysis are Tier II facilities possessing chemicals requiring annual reporting under Federal law, natural gas and liquefied petroleum product pipelines as well as highways, arterial roads, and railroads that are transportation routes for hazardous cargo as defined by Federal and State law. To assess the impact of the various hazards on the City's critical infrastructure and identify vulnerable properties in close proximity, critical facilities have been identified, mapped, and correlated with the impact zone of each identified hazard.

The intent of the new HVA tool is to empower Carrollton residents and businesses with the risk information they need to help prepare themselves for the most likely disaster to affect the area, as well as enhance City emergency planning. It is meant to promote a culture of whole-community preparedness that Carrollton OEM believes is the key to meeting future disaster challenges.

For more information, visit cityofcarrollton.com/emergencymanagement.