IceStorm 98 Study

J. MAPS

1. “The need for accurate maps, software and information tracking systems was a constant.”

   Bruce Stock, Emergency Measures Ontario

2. Maps and corresponding civic address lists are needed for door-to-door checks.

   Constable Al Melvin of the Kingston Police Force, who was one of 2 officers in charge of door-to-door checks explained how they were organized:

   “We still have maps, ‘war maps’ set up for the whole city. That was one of the first things we did. And to this day, we still have a command post that’s ready to operate, if anything ever happened to this city. Sgt. Major Finn, from the military, was keeping the maps up to date. As well, whenever we received information, we would always get together to review the information and to update the maps. So, if one of us was gone for whatever reason, doing another task, then whoever was present would just update the map on the actual war maps, drawing on them because every day was a new map. And every day was a virtually new area too. We were having these areas to be searched. We were identifying priority areas initially, and we would actually photocopy portions of a map. What areas and what streets. If the streets were large enough, we would break down the police members who were present into teams, and give them a map with a planning order. These are the areas that need to be done. Your area to look at and check is here. Here are a bundle of flyers. We had arranged transportation for them. We had arranged food for them. We had to have everything set up, so they knew where to go and what they were doing. They are out all day but they come back at lunch time. They tell me or Staff Sergeant Napier they have accomplished the area. We checked it off the board. We had a visual record of every area that’s been searched.”

3. Maps were used to keep track of generators (by using colour-coded pins).
4. Maps were used to keep track of where power was on or off by color coding streets and areas. Maps like this convey a lot of information quickly.
5. Maps were needed for out-of-towners to find their way around.
6. There is a need for maps produced by a GIS system that can be modified in detail and scale to match the use they are being put to.
7. “Finally, there were continual problems of communications because different players had their own maps. This often lead to confusion. Each Ministry has its own language and one of the main things was maps, producing maps that were consistent and showed stuff. There were a variety of maps. The military had its own maps. Hydro had its own system of maps. There were township maps, road maps. It got thoroughly confusing. Regional Roads, for example, found it needed to provide maps for drivers bringing in supplies and delivering them to places inside and outside the Region.”

   Joe Scanlon, Ottawa-Carleton and the 1998 Ice Storm: Sharing the Lessons Learned. Draft Report pg. 67