By Alabama Public Radio
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wual/local-wual-653732.mp3
Tuscaloosa AL – Government agencies and emergency officials in Alabama now have access to a powerful new tool called Virtual Alabama. It's a computer database that contains an incredible amount of mapping information about every Alabama county. And it's the first of its kind in the nation. Brett Tannehill reports ...
************************
JONES - It's no surprise to me that we'd be in Alabama celebrating a first in geo-spacial technology.
That's Michael Jones, chief technology officer for Google Earth, which provided technical support for the creation of Virtual Alabama.
JONES - We're hoping the other 49 states and one district will follow Alabama's technology leadership and its' service leadership to its citizens by doing something similar to make the whole country have the same benefits that Alabama is about to enjoy
Alabama Homeland Security director Jim Walker says the benefits are already being felt in every Alabama county. Walker says Virtual Alabama will help many people including firefighters, who helped log information into the database about utility lines, fire hydrants and floor plans for schools and buildings. That collection of local knowledge is now available statewide instantly.
WALKER - Now if you're a firefighter, and you're about to charge into a burning building ... wouldn't you like to know where the doors are, and the stairwells are, and the rooms are, and the concentrations of people are before you walked into the building? This tool is going to save a firefighter's life in Alabama .
Emergency personnel are also just a few mouse-clicks away from information that will help them respond to traffic accidents, crime, and even track dangerous chemical plumes using local weather information, maps and computer modelling. Margaret Bishop is the 911 director in Sumter County. She says Virtual Alabama was easy to learn, and increases security ... even in rural areas.
BISHOP - It's invaluable in that sense for water lines, sewer lines, gas lines, fire hydrants for our first responders efforts. We have a chemical waste facility in Emelle where if something happened, now at least I know I have weather and I can pull up a plume and try and evacuate the areas.
The Virtual Alabama project was inspired a couple of years ago when Governor Bob Riley was working on damage estimates following a hurricane. It was quickly discovered there was plenty of information, but it wasn't easily accessible or centrally located. Riley says now, responding to and recovering from weather disasters will be easier.
RILEY - How do you give real-time credibility to an estimate after a hurricane or after a tornado. Today we have visual representation ... what it was, what it is, what it takes to put it back. That's a powerful tool.
Officials say the program can also help counties track vehicles and other assets, help with emergency evacuation routing and help them map critical infrastructure. The program has even created drought modelling to be used in the water sharing dispute with Florida and Georgia.
One part of the program some may find disconcerting provides instant access to all public use security cameras along Alabama's roads and around its government buildings. Virtual Alabama also allows private citizens to allow access to their web cameras, though that participation is strictly on a volunteer basis. Governor Riley says he hopes people don't equate Virtual Alabama to Big Brother.
RILEY - I want people in this country and in this state to begin to understand ... what we're doing is making government more responsible, not less, to take care of the peoples' needs.
The Virtual Alabama platform was created for around 150-thousand dollars. Any agency with a ... dot-gov ... web address can gain access at no cost. More information is available on the Alabama Department of Homeland Security's website.
For Alabama Public Radio, I'm Brett Tannehill