How Butler County, Kansas, Used a Disaster to Reimagine Their Use of Geospatial Technology

As floodwaters rose across Butler County, Kansas, map-based dashboards lit up in the emergency operations center. For the first time, responders could see real-time damage reports streaming in from every corner of the county. No more waiting for paper forms or deciphering handwritten notes, then taking over 30 days to enter data manually.

“It was evident from the moment we arrived in the areas of flooding that property owners required immediate assistance and guidance. Timely reporting of initial damage assessments is crucial for the swift declaration of a disaster and the efficient allocation of resources,” said Toby Stewart, director of community planning at Butler County. 

New workflows supported by geographic information system (GIS) technology allowed responders to collect and visualize real-time damage data, coordinate resources efficiently, and speed up the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declaration process. This marked a dramatic improvement from previous disasters that had exposed critical gaps in the county’s response system. 

On April 29, 2022, a high-end EF-3 tornado tore a 12.8-mile-long path through Butler County, Kansas. The storm damaged homes and infrastructure, leaving debris and downed power lines behind. After the storm, the emergency management office realized they needed a more modern and collaborative approach to response efforts. The county’s emergency management office, GIS professionals, and community development office collaborated to lead the response and assess the impact. 

But the county’s response workflows were not ready for a disaster of this scale. Teams assessed damage using paper forms, and GIS analysts had to manually import the collected data at the office.

“The EF-3 that hit Butler County was a big wake-up call that we needed to fully modernize our response and recovery workflows,” shared Mark Schmidt, GIS director at Butler County. “As a GIS director, I understand the power of geospatial thinking, and I knew that location data would be critical to ensuring our response was effective, accurate, and timely.”

When GIS analysts imported paper-based forms into ArcGIS Online, they faced several challenges: Illegible handwriting, confusion about street names (since some repeated across the county), and tedious data entry slowed their response. 

“From an EOC [emergency operations center] perspective, getting a quick and concrete visualization of the level of damage and where the damage is, is my top priority because our elected officials, partnering nonprofits, and staff want to know the exact count of damaged structures and impacts to the population,” said Keri Korthals, director of emergency management at Butler County.   

The tornado became a catalyst for Butler County to update its workflows for real-time response. The county began modernizing by deploying the ArcGIS Solutions Damage Assessment configuration in a major flooding incident in 2025. This solution helps teams collect damage reports, assign initial damage assessments, monitor the impact of a disaster on the community, brief internal stakeholders, and share information with the public.

It became the foundation of the county’s damage assessment workflow, and the highlight was the solution’s interoperability between ArcGIS Survey123 and relevant FEMA standards. Assessors utilized the individual assistance damage assessment survey that comes out of the box with the Damage Assessment solution for the residential damage assessments within the city of El Dorado, as well as within the city of El Dorado, as well as nearby communities.

The biggest challenge wasn’t deploying the technology—it was getting all partners and stakeholders to buy in. The emergency management team emphasized that the new workflow allowed every agency to contribute data in real time. This collective approach improved the county’s ability to visualize damage and maintain situational awareness across all responding organizations.

“During the EOC briefing, we took the opportunity to show our partners the active data rolling in via ArcGIS Dashboards,” said Korthals. “Our partners were [so] fascinated at the efficiency that a few assessors learned our process, then redeployed their team into the field to follow our workflow.”

Using the Damage Assessment solution proved efficient and cost-effective. It expedited the FEMA disaster declaration process, qualified low-interest loans to impacted residents and business owners via the Small Business Administration and FEMA public assistance programs, and helped allocate resources from nonprofit organizations. The solution also improved coordination with the state and FEMA, highlighting areas of impact, low-income areas affected, and where cleanup and replacements were needed.

Butler County also deployed Search and Rescue Common Operating Platform (SARCOP) applications due to their interoperability with ArcGIS technology and ease of use on mobile devices and desktops. 

“The evolution of implementing GIS into our county has saved us so much time. I mean, really, it felt like this flooding response went a whole lot smoother than the tornado response,” shared Schmidt. 

During the 2025 flooding, the City of El Dorado and the county performed damage assessments in real time on approximately 240 homes and businesses in three days. This was a significant improvement compared to the 2022 Andover tornado efforts, which accounted for 228 homes and businesses in a seven-day period. The implementation of GIS technology also eliminated nearly four weeks of data entry.

“For me, seeing the live damage assessments populate in the dashboards was a huge relief because it was validation of everything we had been working on,” said Schmidt. “Our citizens that were affected by the recent flooding were able to get the help that they needed because the decision-makers were able to make informed decisions quickly, and I believe that the GIS data played a huge part in that.”

GIS is now a core part of Butler County’s emergency response strategy. What started as a tool used only in urgent situations has become essential for planning, coordination, and decision-making across departments. 

As Butler County continues to develop GIS tools, more partners are recognizing the value of geospatial thinking. The county aims to expand GIS-based applications to improve real-time awareness of shelter status, incident command locations, and incident boundaries.