Current Features and Applications
Applications are selected to be used in a particular deployment by modifying the Disaster Portal configuration files. When included, they become available via tabs in the main navigation menu of the application.Situation Summary - The home page of the site displays summary statistics and/or most recent information updates for each of the applications deployed, as well as an interactive map-based overview of this information.
Announcements / Map Annotations - Announcement messages with associated map annotations indicating various types of incidents (fire, hazmat, etc.) Announcements are created by an administrative user and can be formatted with HTML. The administrative tool supports creation of map annotations either as points, with a designated symbol icon, or as a polygon defining a geographical area.
Press Notifications - Structured incident information posted by emergency dispatch center and primarily intended for media contacts. This application can optionally broadcast notifications to press contacts via SMTP pager gateway or email.
Press Releases - Document attachments of press releases.
Emergency Shelter Information - A database of emergency shelter locations and facility information created and maintained by an administrative user, and a user interface displaying current status of shelters, locations, etc. for public users.
Family Reunification - Database of displaced person information collected via this Disaster Portal deployment. Forms allow creation of "looking for you" information requests as well allowing a displaced person to provide contact information (ie from a kiosk set up in an emergency shelter). Additional capabilities for searching other web sources of displaced person information are under development (see Research page).
Donation Management - Allows users to post both requests and offers of donations in a categorized scheme. A keyword search capability is provided to assist in finding matches. A mechanism is provided to allow the administrative user to highlight certain requests (eg. items urgently needed by the city). Additional capabilities for automatic matching/prioritization of requests and notifications of matches are under development (see Research page).
User Profile Management - Allows users to create and maintain profiles with email address (for announcements), locations (for customization of content), etc. Information profiles are available to each of the applications deployed in the Disaster Portal.
Site Administration Area - Secured area of site which allows designated administrative users to log in and maintain content displayed.