NBC29Charlottesville Looks to Upgrade Crisis Tracking Software

The city of Charlottesville is going after grant funds to upgrade a regional computer system that could track a crisis, such as a tornado or snow storm in real time. The crisis tracking software, similar to the VIPER system the state uses, would allow the people managing emergency situations to go street by street, and even room by room inside buildings, all from in front of a computer screen.

Currently, emergency crews use a program called WebEOC. They can track each incident, such as a fire, storm damage, or police activity, but it's all in text form, similar to a spreadsheet - and sometimes delayed.

Charlottesville's Fire Chief Charles Werner is seeking a state grant to pay for an upgrade that would show all of those reports in real-time on maps. Users could add layers that show satellite images or even building floor plans.

Chief Werner explained, "We need this tool to make us better. It will give us the daily operational aspects that will make us better, and in emergencies we'll be much better."

The fire chief says the technology is already in place for all those mapping layers, but they're not coordinated into one shared computer program. Charlottesville, Albemarle, the University of Virginia, and even the state would all have access to it.

The upgrade would cost about $25,000 to $50,000. The city should find out if it gets the grant by the end of the year, but if that money doesn't come through, the fire chief says he will find a way to budget for the upgrade from other funding sources.

New Storm-Tracking Software — Weather Defender 1.1 from SWIFT ...

Omaha, NE (PRWEB) November 9, 2009

Residents of Tornado Alley in the Southeast and Midwest know that every second counts when it comes to protecting their family or business in the event of severe weather and violent storms. SWIFT Weather, a decade old U.S.-based provider of storm-tracking software, released today Weather Defender 1.1 – the new software designed to save lives and protect families and businesses by providing advance notice of storms and impending severe weather. The new version of the leading storm-tracking software has more than 20 new features allowing users to accurately forecast weather and receive customized alerts of local or approaching severe weather on their computer, by e-mail, as an audible alarm, or as SMS text to any mobile device. Both residential and commercial licenses are available.

Weather Defender 1.1′s new features and enhancements include:     Better support for GIS integration with industry-leading formats like ArcView Shapefile and Google Earth (KML).

“Our mission is to save lives, plain and simple,” said Rory Groves, CEO of SWIFT Weather. “Our new Weather Defender 1.1 provides families and businesses with the most advanced, easy-to-use storm-tracking software available anywhere. With several new features in addition to our standard features such as always-on threat monitoring, location specific ‘safe-zones’, social media collaboration tool, animated history, GPS integration, and GIS import – I feel confident in saying this is one of the most important software applications an individual will ever purchase.”

The new Weather Defender 1.1 is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 operating systems. The Residential Edition is $ 149.95 after $ 100 new customer discount and $ 29.95 per month for weather data. The Commercial Edition is $ 399.95 and $ 49.95 per month.

For more information, and to try Weather Defender free for 7 days, visit http://www.weatherdefender.

An Automated Real-Time Storm Analysis and Storm Tracking Program (WEATRK).

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