Contingency Planning

Hawaii Prepares To Implement State-Wide Emergency Management System

August 1, 2008

21st Century Systems Inc. announced recently that Hawaii State Civil Defense will implement its customized Command Responder software for the conduct of state emergency operating center activities.

HSCD is responsible for state emergency management and homeland security programs and activities. It coordinates emergency response operations among state, county and local emergency management agencies for natural and man-made incidents, including terrorism, from its emergency operating center in Honolulu.

Customized for installation to meet specific requirements of the State of Hawaii, Command Responder will enhance the capability of Hawaii’s current emergency information system to manage any disaster before, during and after it affects the islands.

Using online satellite imagery, CR provides Live Data Feed and Geographic Information System visualization. Real-time information is then sent to HSCD supervisors to assess and monitor events as they occur, minimizing response time and maximizing the ability to plan, command and recover.

From monitoring approaching storms to managing emergency responses, CR provides a flexible and adaptable system to easily coordinate tasks required to ensure the safety of citizens across the state. As a Web-based system, information provided to state decision-makers by CR is accessible anywhere the Internet is available.

“Command Responder is a robust IT system that will bolster our ability to coordinate an immediate response to emergencies and disasters,” stated Major General Robert G. F. Lee, Hawaii’s adjutant general and director of State Civil Defense. “Confirmed through three successful trials, this system gives our State emergency operating center and staff an added advantage during any emergency.”

CR also provides HSCD managers the ability to input specific location information -- such as road closures, power outages, flood damage and stranded citizens -- as it is reported, and visualize those locations online using satellite imagery with the Live Data Feed and GIS information. This capability aids in planning for emergency response and recovery, identifying immediate needs, and in coordinating emergency response assets.

Command Responder was developed with federal funding made available through the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.