What We Are Riffing About!

Last fall, Accela made available for free its Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) Cloud Service to all Florida counties affected by Ian. The solution assists with windshield surveys, or visual inspections of properties made from a vehicle, and with more detailed inspections that include digital placarding so officials can post signs designating whether structures are safe to enter.

Today, the company announced an expansion of RDA that focuses on preparation as much as response. That involves “using Federal Emergency Management Agency data or other types of data, identifying areas that are maybe higher risk for flooding ahead of time and then overlaying that also with information from fire inspections or environmental data like storage of hazardous materials,” said Amber D’Ottavio, vice president of product management at Accela. For instance, officials can see if a facility that houses hazardous chemicals is in a flood zone, and they can go there proactively to inspect its preparation for flooding.

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