The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. Vol. XXXVII. Part B4. Beijing 2008 
extract the villages / settlements non- inundated during last 
10 years. 
• Using the elevation data it assigns the elevation to each of 
the settlements. 
The above information for selected districts / provinces was 
generated and a web service was created for severing to users/ 
client. A comprehensive web interface was designed with 
standard features such as pan, roam, zoom, inquire location and 
map navigation tools. Figure-8 shows the application web 
interface. 
Figure -8 Web Application for identification of suitable 
locations for flood shelters 
The user can access the site through web browser and select the 
district of interest from the drop-down menu list. The 
corresponding map sowing the suitable locations for the flood 
shelters will be displayed along with other topographical 
features retrieved from the database. The user has an option to 
select the layers required in the map and export/ print the map 
at pre-defmed scales. A brief report / tabular statement can be 
generated showing the suitable locations along with the 
settlement names, geographic coordinates, and elevation and 
population details 5 
5. COCLUSIONS 
Much of the information that is required for emergency 
preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation including 
resources allocation involve geospatial information. Geospatial 
models can help predict the locations, footprints, times, and 
durations of events, and the damage they may cause, so that 
jurisdictions can better prepare for them. From the geospatial 
perspective, preparedness objectives include identifying data 
requirements, developing data sets, and sharing data across 
agencies. This includes activities as basic as developing 
framework data and foundation data on infrastructure, hazards 
and risks, location of assets that are of use for response and 
recovery. The need of the hour is organization of geospatial 
data and use location information to integrate varied data 
sources and make these data sets accessible for the decision 
makers. The integration of geospatial information from 
multiple sources, often with varied formats, semantics, 
precision, and coordinate systems is a key issue. Data models, 
query languages, indexes, and algorithms must be extended to 
handle more complex geometric objects, such as objects that 
move and evolve continuously over time. Integrating the 
temporal characteristics of a geographic object into a spatial- 
temporal database is challenging. Geospatial data and tools 
should be an essential part of every stage of emergency 
management, from planning through response and recovery to 
the mitigation of future events. If future emergency responses 
are to be more effective, significant investments should be 
made in training of personnel, coordination among agencies, 
sharing of data and tools. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
The authors express their sincere thanks Director, NRSA for his 
constant encouragement and guidance. The authors express 
their gratitude to the concerned scientists at Decision Support 
Centre, NRSA for providing the inputs for the preparation of 
this article and to ISRO DMS programme office for their 
support. 
REFERENCES 
Committee on Intersections Between Geospatial Information 
and Information Technology, National Research Council (2003) 
IT Roadmap to a Geospatial Future, National Academies Press. 
http://www.nap.edU/catalog/l 0661 .html 
Committee on Planning for Catastrophe (2007). Successful 
Response Starts with a Map: Improving Geospatial Support for 
Disaster Management, National Academies Press. 
http://www.nap.edU/catalog/l 1793.html 
Committee on Using Information Technology to Enhance 
Disaster Management, National Research Council (2005) 
Summary of a Workshop on Using Information Technology to 
Enhance Disaster Management, National Academies Press. 
http://www.nap.edU/catalog/l 1458.html 
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