City of Austin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERelease Date:
Find a nearby Cooling Center in just a few clicks with City's new interactive map.
Cooling Centers Interactive Map Added to City’s Alerts Page
Having somewhere to cool off on a hot day in Austin is crucial to staying safe during the summer. Knowing where you can go to cool off is now easier for Austinites and visitors thanks to an interactive Google Map on the City’s Alerts page.
“We are looking at ways – big and small – to improve our ability to support the community during emergencies and in extreme weather,” said Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Ken Snipes. “We want to continue to make it easier for people to know where resources are and how to access them before an emergency.”
During the summer months, City facilities like Austin Public Library and Austin Parks and Recreation facilities are available as Cooling Centers. Community members and visitors can utilize these facilities during regular business hours as a temporary reprieve from the heat and take advantage of the air conditioning. Austin Homeland Security and Emergency Management created the interactive Cooling Centers map to make it easier for patrons to find the facilities currently available as Cooling Centers.
City data shows users are more likely to use a mobile device when looking for information on the website, and utilizing an interactive map like this allows people to not only find where Cooling Centers are but also get directions in just a few clicks.
The Cooling Centers map is housed on the www.austintexas.gov/alerts page, where emergency information is translated into 13 different languages and accessible to screen readers.
When the Texas heat really turns up, the map can be updated to indicate which Cooling Centers will be available for extended hours of operations. The City activates multiple Cooling Center locations beyond their normal business hours during extreme heat conditions, and with just a few clicks the map legend can be updated and language added to the Alerts page to indicate which facilities will have extended Cooling Center hours. The map can also be easily updated if a facility becomes unavailable to operate as a Cooling Center for any reason. This process improvement will help ensure the community has the most accurate and up to date information in real time.
“Being able to quickly make adjustments to this map and having priority language content already translated will make this a much more efficient process and allow us to keep our community more informed when they need to cool off," Snipes said. "Heat illnesses can come on quickly, and having information and a map to resource locations readily available is another step to keeping our community safe in the heat.”
The Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management also plans to implement a similar map for Warming Centers in the winter. Find critical emergency information in 13 languages at www.ausintexas.gov/alerts and learn how to get prepared before an emergency at www.readycentraltexas.org.
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