Achieving operational and situational awareness in any EOC environment can be a challenge. Given the threat of natural and manmade disasters that can impact the continuity of a civil society and the normal operations government; workflows, procedures, and an operation picture of the event, is paramount to addressing the ever increasing challenges faced by emergency managers and first responders. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) had faced similar tests within their EOC, and were determined to develop a system that provide situational awareness in a timely and relevant manner to decision makers across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Virginia Interoperability Picture for Emergency Response, or more commonly known as VIPER, was the answer that VDEM was looking for to fulfill its mission to the residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia. VIPER was developed utilizing ESRI’s Sample Flex Viewer which is powered by ArcGIS Server. 

VIPER had an opportunity prove its mettle in several high profile natural disaster and national security events. The most notable ones being Tropical Storm Hannah, the Presidential Election, and the Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, President Barack Obama. In each instance, VIPER was integral to providing geospatial intelligence and situational awareness to allied agencies supporting these events. VIPER gave non-GIS staff the opportunity to visualize, analyze, and query relevant information in a common operational picture. Watch officials, emergency managers, first responders, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Nation, have all benefited from the pioneering and innovative development of this system. To learn more about VIPER visit -  http://www.virginiahazmat.org/displayindustryarticle.cfm?articlenbr=38966 or watch the video posted on the Public Safety Resource Center and the ESRI TV Channel on YouTube.