Community Education & Outreach Portal

The Community Education & Outreach (CEO) project is a request by the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (GOHSEP) to collect data and improve functional enhancements that facilitate Louisiana’s ability to quantify remediation impacts of hazard mitigation investments and develop assessment instruments to communicate risk. Conceived as two parts, the NIMSAT Institute will work with GOHSEP to develop the “Disaster Informatics” Repository and a “Disaster Analytics” Framework.

• Disaster Informatics Repository:  The “Disaster Informatics” repository is envisioned as a foundation for the improved collection of data related to threats, vulnerabilities and consequences. To accomplish these objectives, the NIMSAT Institute proposes to expand upon existing data collection and management features developed for the on-going CEO project to improve upon existing data available through FEMA, GOHSEP and other agencies.

• Disaster Analytics Framework: Built upon the foundation of such informatics, the Institute will develop the “Disaster Analytics” Framework for computation of risk using a systems-based risk management approach and its communication to the general public, in addition to providing tools and processes developed based on processes and guidelines established by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The benefit of this process for the CEO program is the development of a data repository of hazards across the state and the impacts of those hazards, including loss of life, property damage, cost of managing the disaster, and disruption to the economy. The database will also capture the state’s investments into mitigation through the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Programs to identify reduction in vulnerabilities, which can in turn be reflected in local and state Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) development. This will directly benefit the improved quantification of risk defined as the triad of (threat * vulnerability * consequence), wherein hazards translate into threat, mitigation investments (or lack thereof) translate into vulnerability, and impacts translate into consequences.