Cyclones Can Be Tracked Using Tech, It Now Helps In Mapping COVID-19 Spread Too!
Some states have been using ESRI’s tech-based on geographic information system (GIS) to gauge the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and also the kind of challenges faced by it.
In order to track cyclones, floods, and other natural disasters, Geographic information system (GIS) has been used extensively. Now, GIS is being used by some states to understand the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and also combating the unprecedented challenges faced by it.
Talking to Indian Express, Agendra Kumar said that they announced a global program for the pandemic. This free software is made available for six months to the Government agencies that are involved in the management of COVID-19 across the world. Headquartered in California, ESRI helps companies and governments with geographical information system software and geodatabase management applications.
Kumar also stressed on the fact that with regard to COVID-19, he and his team are recommending the use of GIS to model the spread and also understand the impact of the disease. They emphasized the fact that GIS is basically a framework that is being used for gathering, managing and analysing georeference data. Georeference refers to anything that has a location and can be brought into a GIS system and also used for various analytics.
The firm has also created a special ArcGIS Hub coronavirus template that can be plugged into its existing products like the ArcGIS Online and the ArcGIS Pro. According to Kumar, 25 departments in India, including the National Disaster Management Authority and several states have been using this technology.
However, in case of a pandemic, it is very important to make sense of the data and that too pretty quickly. As per the ESRI template, it lets authorities to create dashboards and also interpret data by overlaying them on maps. Additionally, analytics can also run showing what is contributing to the higher rates of fatality.
Explaining this, Kumar said that authorities can map the patients, their contacts, testing sites and also health facilities. This would also help in new clusters to be mapped so that it’s known which population is at risk. Also, if people are being quarantined, they need to know their nearest quarantine areas.
ESRI primarily uses its GIS technology to track floods and cyclones, and it has been operational since 1996. However, the pandemic is a novelty and this would be involving new learnings. The biggest learning being the newest forms of technology being used in order to mitigate risks that are associated with a pandemic.
Lastly, he pointed out that India’s preparedness for handling floods or cyclones is really good now. It has been over the years that such systems have been set up that reduced risks from cyclones. This has, in turn, helped people in traking cyclones, and also know how to react. Kumar concluded by saying that health would be needing a similar kind of approach and we are heading that way slowly.
