Proposal for a New Map Symbol System for Disaster Management
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Marinova, S.
1UNIVERSITY OF ARCHITECTURE, CIVIL ENGINEERING AND GEODESY Email: silveto_marinova@yahoo.com
Abstract
In the last 10 years Bulgaria was frequently affected by natural and man-made disasters that caused considerable losses. According to the Bulgarian Disaster Management Act disaster management should be planned at local, regional and national level. Disaster management is а complex process including mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery. The actors in these activities need accurate geographical information presented on thematic maps. Disaster management at local and regional level is based on plans that include maps such as hazard maps, maps for protection, maps for evacuation planning, etc.. Decision-making and cooperation between two or more neighboring municipalities or regions in crisis situation are still rendered difficult because the maps included in the plans differ in scale, colors, map symbols and cartographic design. To improve decision-making process in case of emergency and to reduce the number of human losses and property damages disaster management plans at local and regional level should be supported by detailed thematic maps created in accordance with a uniform map symbol system. The paper proposes a new symbol system that is planned to be used for the graphical part of local and regional disaster management plans. The map symbol system includes a four level hierarchical classification of objects and phenomena according to their type and origin. All objects and phenomena of this classification are divided into five categories: disasters; infrastructure; protection services and infrastructure for protection; affected people and affected infrastructure; operational sites and activities. The symbols of these categories are shown with different colors and shapes so that they are identifiable. The symbols are designed to be simple but also associative. The new symbol system is used in the design of a series of maps for disaster management at local and regional level. The classification of objects and phenomena and the cartographic design of the symbols included in the new system aim to improve the whole process of crisis management and to facilitate the cooperation of local and regional authorities in efforts to mitigate shared disasters.
Keywords
disaster management; map symbol system; disaster maps