Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/747441
Challenge British Columbia is home to breathtaking landscapes and a temperate climate but is also vulnerable to natural hazard threats such as landslides, avalanches, flooding and wildfires. Located in B.C.'s lower mainland is the Ridge Meadows SAR team that has been active for almost four decades, responding to calls from local law enforcement as well as ambulance and coroner services. The 35-member volunteer team conducts missing person searches throughout large provincial parks and is called upon to assist with evacuations during floods or storms. To determine where a search should begin, the team needs access to map coordinates where a missing person was last seen. They also need to quickly gain an understanding of the surrounding landscape. The team used to rely on national topographic maps at a 1:50,000 scale that offered a low level of detail and excluded vital data such as boundaries of assignment areas. While a search was in progress, paper maps would be marked up with handwritten notes and updated with mylar overlays that could often be difficult to interpret. To streamline the search process and more effectively navigate challenging terrain, Ridge Meadows needed to find a solution that would facilitate immediate status updates and the ability to query information onsite. Ground search and rescue team achieves 50% improvement in data accuracy Among the arsenal of equipment used by search and rescue (SAR) teams, Geographic Information System technology (GIS) is fast becoming an integral part of the toolkit that is modernizing the way search and rescue is carried out across the globe. The technology was used to develop a new search and rescue application known as MapSAR: a mapping tool that models workflows so that SAR teams can act quickly, assign search zones and communicate vital information during operations. Leveraging the app, BC's Ridge Meadows Volunteer SAR team achieved a 50% improvement in the accuracy of data they rely on during searches. 1 Esri Canada | Mapping the way to enhanced search and rescue