{"id":192842,"date":"2018-12-18T14:42:59","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T22:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcwatch&p=192842"},"modified":"2018-12-26T09:55:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-26T17:55:50","slug":"apps-for-a-more-resilient-planet","status":"publish","type":"arcwatch","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcwatch\/apps-for-a-more-resilient-planet","title":{"rendered":"Apps for a More Resilient Planet"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":651,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13602],"tags":[284972,294772,201212,294782,163342],"arcwatch_issues":[224812],"class_list":["post-192842","arcwatch","type-arcwatch","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natural-disasters","tag-coastal-resilience","tag-esri-global-disaster-resilience-app-challenge","tag-nature-conservancy","tag-un-climate-summit","tag-united-nations","arcwatch_issues-november-2014","arcwatch_sections-the-headlines"],"acf":{"short_description":"Apps designed to protect coastal areas from erosion and steer evacuees to safety won the Esri Global Disaster Resilience App Challenge.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":null,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":168722,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Winners of the\u00a0Esri Global Disaster Resilience App Challenge<\/a>\u00a0were recognized at the\u00a0United Nations (UN) Climate Summit<\/a>\u00a0in New York last September, honored for devising life-saving apps that will be used to reduce the impact of extreme weather events on cities and coastal communities.\r\n\r\nThe apps entered in the challenge supported the Making Cities Resilient campaign by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Esri awarded a prize of $10,000 each to the winners for the best professional\/scientific app and the best citizen\/public-facing app. Both will be made available for use to the 2,200 cities, towns, and municipalities involved in Making Cities Resilient.\r\n\r\nThe winner in the Professional\/Scientific category was The Nature Conservancy for the\u00a0Coastal Defense<\/a>\u00a0app. It quantifies how natural habitats can help protect coastal areas by decreasing wave-induced erosion and inundation. Users can see where their shorelines have the greatest risk of erosion, understand how coastal habitats diminish wave height and energy, and decide on the best course of action.\r\n\r\nLeon Storey and Gareck Packer developed\u00a0Guardian Evacuations<\/a>\u00a0web app, the winner in the citizen\/public facing category. It's designed to help users find the nearest evacuation shelters after a disaster and get directions there. The app also provides contact information for the shelters.\r\n\r\n\"Technology and science have a role to play in making the planet a safer and more resilient place,\" said Margareta Wahlstr\u00f6m, head of the UNISDR. \"These apps will empower people across the world to manage the risks associated with extreme weather events fueled by climate change, which affect over 100 million people every year. Congratulations are in order to the winners and to Esri for taking this initiative.\""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":168732,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\"Esri announced the app challenge in July and the response has been exceptional,\" said Esri president Jack Dangermond. \"Participants built 22 apps that help cities and citizens build resilience to the impacts of disasters. The results are a very significant contribution to building the resilience of user communities, particularly those that are members of the Making Cities Resilient campaign. Esri will provide further assistance to ensure that these apps are widely available to the public.\"\r\n\r\nOther apps submitted to the app challenge are well worth noting as tools for assisting communities:\r\n