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Figure 1: A state overview for impact projections from Hurricane Barry with the identified threat being the high-risk area for rainfall exceeding flash flood guidance.
Situational awareness and operational coordination are vital for FEMA to support SLTT partners before, during, and after disasters. The Region IV Threat Analysis Unit (TAU) is required to provide FEMA’s senior leadership with actionable intelligence to ensure a timely, effective, and efficient response to all-hazards incidents that may affect the citizens of Region IV’s states and tribal holdings. Region IV has pre-established sets of triggers pertaining to tropical weather, severe flooding, and tornadoes. Once those triggers are met, TAU’s goal is to produce a briefing product called a Focused Threat Assessment (FTA) within four hours of threat identification. This briefing product includes a breakdown of the threat, impact projections, and recommendations to mobilize or activate all critical FEMA and other Federal Agency resources. By incorporating the Threat Analysis Dashboard into standard processes, Region IV has significantly reduced the amount of time spent on data collection, analysis, and presentation of information to decision makers.
Region IV TAU explored utilizing Power BI Desktop’s capabilities to improve the process of creating an FTA. With the help of EAD and Power BI experts within FEMA, Region IV TAU learned how to best utilize Power BI to save time and reduce human error. Prior to the implementation of the Threat Analysis Dashboard, data collection, analysis, and production took two to three hours to produce an FTA. Now, TAU is able meet the FTA requirements in a shorter timeframe, allowing for additional time for further analysis and refinement.
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