Tips for Data-Driven Responses to Emergencies

In September, a portion of the City’s water system experienced an E. coli contamination. Areas in West and Southwest Baltimore were placed under a Boil Water Advisory for several days until testing showed water safety had been reestablished. To manage this crisis, our Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in the Fire Department activated the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and a cross-agency team pulled together to distribute water to parts of the City under the advisory. During emergencies, timely and accurate information is crucial and in these moments you don’t want responders to have to wrestle with clunky tools. Moreover, the City may have data or capacity that can help in the situation that your OEM isn’t aware of. The recommendations below are three simple things we’ve learned for next time. To leave feedback or ask a question about this dataset, please fill out the following form: Tips for Data-Driven Responses to Emergencies feedback form.