Queensland’s ability to recover from natural disasters has been enhanced with the development of an Australian first system that enables the gathering of early and accurate information, helping develop speedy damage assessments.
A hand-held GPS system known as the Damage Assessment and Reconstruction Monitoring system (DARMsys) is used to monitor Queensland’s rebuilding progress after a series of natural disasters devastated the state over the last two years.
The monitoring system involves the use of a GPS-linked data collection device that allows assessors to collect levels of damage to individual homes and buildings, and then transfer that data in ‘real-time’ to a central mapping point. This real time tracking system has enabled the collection of up-to-the-minute damage assessments of Mitchell, Roma and St George following flooding in February 2012.
Introduced as a highly successful pilot program in April 2011, the Authority is using the portable device to travel street-by-street and house-by-house through flood and cyclone-affected communities to identify where the greatest needs exist. Pilots were conducted in Brisbane, Ipswich, Roma, Emerald, Hinchinbrook and along the Cassowary Coast. This, in turn, is helping the Government provide assistance to the most vulnerable in our communities.
DARMsys is a recognised resilience-building system that will help Queensland better prepare for any future natural disaster events.
It has been recognised by the World Bank as having played an instrumental role in enabling Queensland to recover quickly from last summer’s natural disasters.
To find out more about the system, visit http://www.qldra.org.au/about/darmsys
