The Florida Division of Emergency Management is exited to announce the following courses.  The classes are now available on SERT TRAC with a direct link is provided below after each course title. Note: if you do not currently have a profile established in SERT TRAC, feel free to set one up here as you will need an account to sign up for these courses.

Title: Using Geospatial Technologies to Describe and Measure Risks and Vulnerabilities from Florida Hurricanes – Apply here

Description: Models that leverage the capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly being used to understand and address the economic and social impacts of hazards such as hurricanes.   While offering significant potential for mitigating these risks, they can also produce inaccurate information if the hazard, exposure and other inputs upon which they are based are inappropriate. You will also learn how GIS can be used to visualize and analyze these data in order to guide decision making related to hurricane mitigation and other aspects of emergency management.

Course Dates: Dates/Times: Tuesday, February 11 (8:30 to 4:30 Eastern), Wednesday, February 12 (8:30 to 4:30 Eastern) and Thursday, February 13, 2020 (8:30 to 11:30)

Targeted Audience: Florida Floodplain Managers, Emergency Management Professionals, and GIS Professionals.

Additional Information: This course is the first in a series of three that also include the Moving Beyond Traditional Hazard Risk Analysis and Modeling Risk with Hazus-MH: Fundamentals and Beyond courses.  Attendance in all three courses is not required, but it is encouraged.

Prerequisites: None

Title: Moving Beyond Traditional Hazard Risk Analysis – Apply here

Description: In this course you will learn how to apply several ‘non-traditional’ tools and techniques that can significantly improve your analysis and communication of hurricane wind and flood risk.   Three different topic areas are covered.  The first is an exploration of techniques for quantifying the social impacts of hurricane hazards such as shelter needs and mental health considerations.   Next, a variety of statistical techniques are covered that can be used to identify and explain patterns in data that may not be immediately evident through other means.  The course concludes with an exploration of tools in ArcGIS Pro that are available for expanding on the limitations of ‘basic mapping’ by conveying information through 3D animation.

Course Dates: Monday, March 16 (8:30 to 4:30 Eastern), Tuesday, March 17 (8:30 to 4:30 Eastern) and Wednesday, March 18, 2020 (8:30 to 11:30)

Targeted Audience: Florida Floodplain Managers, Emergency Management Professionals, and GIS Professionals.

Additional Information: This course is the second in a series of three that also include the Using Geospatial Technologies to Describe and Measure Risks and Vulnerabilities from Florida Hurricanes course and the Modeling Risk with Hazus-MH: Fundamentals and Beyond course.   Attendance in all three courses is not required, but it is encouraged.

Prerequisites: None, but experience using geographic information systems software is recommended.  This course includes multiple hands-on activities that use Esri’s ArcGIS Pro.

Title: Modeling Risk with Hazus-MH: Fundamentals and Beyond – Apply here

Description: This course will explain how to use FEMA’s Hazus-MH tool to assess economic and social impacts from hurricane related winds and floods in Florida. The class will include multiple hands-on activities including an opportunity to apply the lessons learned to characterize hurricane related risks in your own community. Participants should expect to develop a basic understanding of how Hazus-MH works – what it can produce ‘out of the box’, how it can be enhanced by incorporating more refined  inputs, and how it can inform other aspects of risk management in your community.

Course Dates: Monday, April 20 thru Thursday, April 23, 2020 (8:30 to 4:30 daily)

Targeted Audience: Florida Floodplain Managers, Emergency Management Professionals, and GIS Professionals.

Additional Information: This course is the final one in a series of three that also includes the Using Geospatial Technologies to Describe and Measure Risks and Vulnerabilities from Florida Hurricanes course and the Using Geospatial Technologies to Describe and Measure Risks and Vulnerabilities from Florida Hurricanes course.  It builds on these courses by discussing how to leverage the information produced by Hazus-MH.  

Prerequisites: None, but experience using geographic information systems software is recommended.  This course includes multiple hands-on activities that use Esri’s ArcGIS Pro.