National Hurricane Program HURREVAC Update to VB.net

National Hurricane ProgramHURREVAC Update to VB.net

NATIONAL HURRICANE PROGRAM

2008 National Hurricane ConferenceHURREVAC Update to VB.net

USACE - Michael SchusterIntroductions and Project Overview/Administration

Dewberry - Bill MasseyHurrevac Historical Perspective and User Feedback

Sea Island Software - Karen TownsendNext Generation Hurrevac

Presenters



• Product of the FEMA/USACE Hurricane Evacuation Study Program

• Distributed to over 7000 users worldwide

HURREVACA hurricane tracking and evacuation planning tool for government emergency managers



• Hurrevac is provided free-of-charge to eligible users in government emergency management

• FEMA and USACE share funding and program administration duties. NOAA lends additional support.

• Baltimore District of USACE oversees the program• Private contractors (Sea Island Software and

Dewberry) are tasked with all software development, program maintenance, and user support.

Program Administration



1. Develop a Hurrevac Users Group and obtain user feedback

2. Develop a 5-year strategic plan for Hurrevac to include operational back-up capabilities

3. Begin conversion of Hurrevac to the VB.net platform

4. Operate and maintain current Hurrevac5. Provide training for the existing program

Highlights of 2008 Scope of Work



HURREVAC HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND USER FEEDBACK

Bill Massey, Director of Hurricane and Emergency Management Programs



• Hurrevac was started in 1987 with a grant from FEMA to the South Carolina Emergency Management Agency

• The program was developed by John Townsend (a meteorologist in the Charleston, SC office of the National Weather Service)

• Coupled real-time data from the National Hurricane Center with results of FEMA/USACE Hurricane Evacuation Studies

Program History



• Early versions of Hurrevac were state-specific, with rudimentary DOS-based graphics

• In 1998, a single version applicable to all regions, was introduced (dubbed HurWin95 for the Windows95 operating system)

• Hurrevac2000 later expanded capabilities to include rainfall forecasts and Pacific storm tracking capabilities

• A major upgrade is currently underway (Hurrevac2010)

Program History



• 5-year Strategic planning• Operational back-up capabilities• Conversion of Hurrevac to the VB.net platform• Improved user training• Greater user involvement/feedback

Looking to the Future



• All 7000+ registered Hurrevac users were invited to participate in an online survey last October

• Three smaller Hurrevac Focus Groups were formed (Atlantic, Gulf, Islands) They meet periodically and provide additional input

SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS . . .

User Feedback Strategies



Local Government 53.0%State Government 18.7%Federal Government 10.0%Military 5.0%FEMA 5.0%Relief Organization 2.9%US Army Corps of Engineers 2.3%Weather Service 1.8%Foreign Government 0.5%

User AffiliationQ. Which of the categories below best describes

your agency/organization affiliation?



User LocationQ. What is your state or province?

Florida 19.2% Pennsylvania 0.9%Texas 12.5% Guam 0.7%North Carolina 8.5% California 0.6%Virginia 6.7% Colorado 0.4%Louisiana 6.1% Delaware 0.4%Georgia 5.3% Arkansas 0.3%New Jersey 4.6% Idaho 0.3%Alabama 4.4% Illinois 0.3%South Carolina 4.2% Kentucky 0.3%Mississippi 3.7% New Hampshire 0.3%Puerto Rico 3.3% New Mexico 0.3%Maryland 2.6% Oklahoma 0.3%New York 2.6% US Virgin Islands 0.3%Washington D.C. 1.8% Vermont 0.3%Massachusetts 1.7% Manitoba 0.2%Connecticut 1.5% Oregon 0.2%Hawaii 1.5% Utah 0.2%Maine 1.1% West Virginia 0.2%Rhode Island 1.1% Wisconsin 0.2%



User Knowledge of Software

Q. How do you rate your knowledge of the software?

Expert User – very familiar with Hurrevac and experienced in interpreting program output

24.5%

Intermediate User – basic understanding of Hurrevac operation for tracking storms

64.3%

Novice User – very little experience using Hurrevac 11.3%



Data Delivery MethodQ. What is your preferred method for receiving live

data for Hurrevac?

Current system of downloading data when I press a button within the program

60.1%

New advisories ‘pushed’ to my computer when they are available

39.9%



Current ProductsQ. How important do you feel that the following types

of products are in Hurrevac?Very Important

Somewhat Important

Not Important

Rating Average*

Storm tracks (.stm files) 98.2% 1.8% 0.0% 3.0Tropical weather outlook 76.4% 20.7% 2.9% 2.7Public advisories (.pub files) 71.7% 25.8% 2.6% 2.7Advisory discussions (.pub files) 54.3% 40.6% 5.1% 2.5Marine advisories (.mar files) 48.3% 43.3% 8.4% 2.4River flood outlook (.rfo files) 64.8% 30.1% 5.1% 2.6Rainfall forecast (.qpf files) 80.7% 17.4% 1.9% 2.8Rainfall discussion (qpfdisc.txt) 46.2% 46.6% 7.2% 2.4Tide station data 65.2% 28.9% 5.9% 2.6River gage data 63.0% 31.1% 5.9% 2.6ETIS (Evacuating Traffic Information System)

67.6% 26.7% 5.7% 2.6



UtilitiesQ. How useful do you find these various utilities of

Hurrevac?

Very Useful

Useful Somewhat Useful

Not Useful

Rating Average*

GIS Export 41.4% 38.7% 15.4% 4.6% 3.2Coordinates and Measurement Tool 55.9% 34.4% 8.6% 1.1% 3.5Advisory Text Viewer 46.8% 41.9% 9.5% 1.8% 3.3Shelters Data Viewer 27.9% 41.2% 21.7% 9.1% 2.9Exercise Track Wizard 35.8% 44.5% 16.1% 3.7% 3.1Storm Statistics Viewer 42.6% 45.8% 10.1% 1.6% 3.3



Timing FunctionsQ. How useful do you find Hurrevac’s various timing

functions?

Very Useful

Useful Somewhat Useful

Not Useful

Rating Average*

Wind Timing Lists 50.3% 38.2% 10.1% 1.4% 3.4Forecast Closest Approach List 55.5% 33.4% 9.5% 1.6% 3.4Evacuation Timing Lists 49.3% 35.8% 12.0% 2.8% 3.3Evacuation Bar Graphs 39.5% 41.9% 15.2% 3.4% 3.2Graphical Timing (Decisions Arcs) 50.9% 37.3% 9.8% 1.9% 3.4Custom Timeline 42.1% 42.0% 13.2% 2.7% 3.2



Hurrevac users most frequently requested the following program enhancements & additions:

• Expanded training and help• New data distribution system

• Streamlined installation and customization• Retooling of What-If and Timing Analyses

• Enhanced GIS capabilities

New Features



• Online survey generated responses from 1,236 Hurrevac users

• Full text of report viewable at http://www.hurrevac.com/userfeedback.pdf

User Feedback Report



NEXT GENERATION HURREVAC

Karen TownsendGIS Applications Developer



Hurrevac2010 - User Interface

• TreeViews• Tabbed

browsing• Dockable

toolbars

View Tabs

Map Tools

Data Tabs

Functions

Analysis Wizard



Hurrevac2010 – Datafeed

• Program window can be minimized to show just the data monitoring panel at top

• HTTP delivery methods replacing FTP• Automatic data retrieval if desired



Timeline for completion:• Beta testing in 2009• Operational in 2010

FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS???

Hurrevac2010

Documents

National Hurricane Program HURREVAC Update to VB.net