Wednesday, March 29, 2006

As of Monday, 27 March, some residents will notice individuals inspecting their houses. They are staff from the Lands and Survey Department collecting data on buildings for use in a hazard-and-loss prediction model.

“Our survey and mapping section is collecting data on structures across the Islands including for example, the type of building, roofing material, windows and shutters,” Geographical Information Systems Production Manager Robin Ransom explained.

Four teams are assigned for the task, beginning in West Bay, downtown George Town, the airport area and east of Savannah. The computer-based data collection will conclude at the end of April.

Director of Lands and Survey Alan Jones says the survey data will be used to create a real-time hazard prediction model as part of the Cayman Islands’ strategy for risk management. The data will be delivered to US consultants Kinetic Analysis Corporation (KAC) before the beginning of the hurricane season.

“This will enable the contractors to calculate the financial impact of a disaster, such as a hurricane, earthquake or flooding,” Mr Jones says. “Planners from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will also use the model for planning before, during and after a storm.”

Surveyors will walk through neighbourhoods carrying the small handheld devices, which are easily identified by their bright yellow colour. The devices are essentially small computers, containing mapping information for every road and structure in Grand Cayman. It takes only two to five minutes for the surveyor to enter the data into a handheld device.

“We use block-and-parcel numbers to locate buildings and ensure that we are attaching correct information to the buildings,” said Ms Ransom. “All information we handle is confidential and will only be used as data for the model.”
Data collection for the Sister Islands will begin soon and the department will update data throughout the year on all islands as new buildings are constructed.

Support for the project comes from the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs via NEMA.

Back...