AWS Public Sector Blog
Category: Disaster Response
Establishing a robust cloud platform and operational model through the CCoE
This post is part three of a four-part series that addresses how a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) can be a viable solution to address the challenges of digital transformation. In this post, we address the three technical perspectives of the Amazon Web Services Cloud Adoption Framework (AWS CAF). While the business, organizational, and governance perspectives of the AWS CAF are crucial, the CCoE must also focus on the technical capabilities required to build and operate a cloud environment that meets the organization’s needs.
Seattle University’s 8-year cloud journey: Key lessons, wins, and a new path forward
Founded in 1891, Seattle University is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the US. Located in the heart of Seattle, Washington, steps away from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) headquarters, Seattle University has long focused on innovation and excellence in education. That’s why, when a critical application was reaching end of life in 2016, the university saw an opportunity to completely transform its IT landscape. Working closely with AWS, Seattle University has now migrated more than 50 percent of its applications to the AWS Cloud and is actively migrating the remaining 50 percent.
Five need-to-know facts about using the AWS Cloud for K12 cyber-resiliency
K12 leaders need tangible solutions and tactics for improving their school’s or district’s cyber-resilience in the coming school year, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) is committed to supporting schools and districts as they enhance the cybersecurity of their networks. Recently, AWS joined the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Education—among other leaders in the government and education community—to commit to improving the cybersecurity resilience of K12 education. As part of this commitment, AWS created the K12 Cyber Grant Program, offering up to $20 million in AWS Promotional Credits to both new and existing K12 customers.
Strengthening public safety collaboration with AWS Wickr and the Android Team Awareness Kit
For public safety agencies, secure collaboration and situational awareness are essential to preparedness and response. First responders need secure, uninterrupted communication to help them get oriented quickly and support complex coordination efforts. This post highlights how Amazon Web Services (AWS) secure communication service AWS Wickr integrates with the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) to enhance the efficiency of emergency response with a user-friendly, map-based solution that expands the common operating picture and strengthens cross-team collaboration.
Disaster response and risk management using PNNL’s Aether framework on AWS
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed Aether as a reusable framework for sharing data and analytics with sponsors and stakeholders. Aether is a mature cloud-centered framework designed using Amazon Web Services (AWS) serverless services to provide a cost-effective and reliable environment for a dozen projects currently deployed with the framework. Read this post to learn more about how Aether’s serverless-first approach is enabling disaster response and risk management.
How to detect wildfire smoke using Amazon Rekognition
Since wildfires can double in size and intensity every three to five minutes, early detection and reduced response times are essential. Cloud technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), can help with this. Learn a high-level architecture to create a solution with AWS that uses AI to identify and classify wildfire smoke imagery and then rapidly alert and inform first responders about the location and condition of a fire incident.
Creating real-time flood alerts with the cloud
The Latin America and Caribbean region is the second most disaster-prone region in the world behind Asia and the Pacific Rim, with floods being the most common disaster in the region. There have been extraordinary levels of flooding around the world—but in Panama, flooding has become particularly challenging. The AWS Disaster Preparedness and Response Team and AWS Partner Grupo TX saw an opportunity to leverage the cloud to better understand and prepare for flooding and ultimately save lives.
Hurricane season 2023: Supporting hurricane response efforts with the cloud
While the 2023 hurricane season kicks off June 1, the reality is that AWS is working to help organizations and communities respond to hurricanes long before a storm forms. Throughout the year, AWS Disaster Response develops and tests new innovations that utilize cloud technology to enable more efficient disaster response capabilities for our customers and relief organizations.
How AWS is supporting nonprofits, governments, and communities impacted by Hurricane Ian
On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida. At the request of standby organizations Help.NGO and Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), the AWS Disaster Preparedness and Response team assisted with response operations across a variety of functions in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Understanding wildfire risk in a changing climate with open data and AWS
The First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research and technology group, is committed to making climate risk information accessible, simple to understand, and actionable for individuals, governments, and industry. As part of the Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI), AWS invited Dr. Ed Kearns, the chief data officer of First Street Foundation, to share how AWS technologies and open data are supporting their mission to provide accurate and up-to-date information on climate related risks.