Selected issues of cartographic communication optimization for emergency centers

摘要

Cartographic communication and support within emergency management (EM)are complicated issues with changing demands according to the incident extentand phase of the EM cycle. Keeping in mind the specifics of each purpose, it isobvious that spatial data used for maps preparation and production must bedifferently visualized even for the same type of emergency incident (trafficaccident, fire, and natural disaster). Context-based cartography is a promisingmethodology to deal with the changing demands of an operational EM center. An overview of cartographic communication is presented within the context ofan operational EM center, activities of particular actors, and map use supportingthe incident elimination. The authors of the paper respond to a series ofquestions, for example: what is the current cartographic support of operationalEM in the Czech Republic in Digital Earth conditions? What possibilities arethere to improve the cartographic communication? How can contextual carto-graphic services be implemented in a Web environment and how can the usabilityof results be tested? The paper gives several examples of the usage of cartographictechnologies in map creation for various emergency situations.