MC Emergency-Providing Critical Information During Local Disasters
2018 NACo Achievement Award Winner
Montgomery County, Md., MD
Best In Category
About the Program
Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)
Year: 2018
Montgomery County, Maryland launched a new Emergency Shelter Status and Information web site (https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/oemhs/ShelterStatus.html) and interactive Geographic Information Systems (GIS) map, called MC Emergency, (https://data.montgomerycountymd.gov/Public¬Safety/Emergency-Shelter-and-Information/kgzq-yvu3). Together, the web site and MC Emergency map provide access to necessary information and resources that are able to be utilized during a local crisis. MC Emergency is a near real-time, online interactive map designed to provide County residents with necessary information to find available shelter, food and assistance. Following a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, or blizzard, one of the Countyâs main responsibilities is managing human service needs. This includes ensuring that residents that are forced from their homes due to lack of power, water, or other safety reasons have temporary shelter and food. The County needed a way to get the most up-to-date shelter status and provide it to residents in a centralized format that was useful and easily accessible. Montgomery County designed an interactive map, MC Emergency, using open data, to assist the public with finding information such as which shelters near them have space, which roads are closed and where the nearest grocery store is. MC Emergency will activate in the event of an emergency and will serve approximately 1 million+ County residents.