Journal of Natural Disaster Science, Volume 25, Number 2, 2003, pp75-83

Interactive Presentation of Geological Hazard Maps
Using Geohazardview

Joel BANDIBAS, Koji WAKITA and Hirokazu KATO
Institute of Geoscience, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology(Received for 2 Apr. 2003 and in revised form 23 Jan. 2004)

ABSTRACTAn interactive method for showing geological hazard maps and related information using GIS software wasdeveloped at the Geological Survey of Japan. The main purpose of this software is to readily provide information
about geological hazards to a wide range of users. The region of interest is East Asia. The software provides agood alternative to viewing geological hazard maps and related information in paper format. It incorporates spatial and a-spatial data that interactively present the time, locations, and the areas affected by the occurrence ofgeological hazards as well as related information. Queries on particular hazard information such as the number ofcasualties, magnitude and location of earthquake epicenters, and names and locations of volcanoes that erupted ina particular year can be easily made. Simulations of such particular geological events as the spread of volcanicash during major volcanic eruptions also can be easily shown. This new software is named GeoHazardView.

1. INTRODUCTION
Increased vulnerability to natural disasters of developingcountries is a major reason for concern (Kato and EANHMP,
2002). The potential loss of human lives and property due to natural hazards is very high in the urban areas of these countries(Munich Re., 2002). The study of geological hazards is very useful for mitigating such losses. Geological hazard maps generally
are used to provide information about the occurrence of past geological hazards and future potential occurrences. They are used byplanners and policy makers in establishing national and regional
development plans in order to minimize potential waste ofresources committed for development and loss of human life due
to geological hazard events.
Information obtained from conventional geological hazard
maps does not always provide sufficient data for users needs. The
difficulty in presenting more relevant information on geologicalhazard maps in conventional paper format is due to the limited
available physical space of that format. Printing more information
on such paper maps tends to confuse rather than provide moreneeded information to users. Furthermore, these kinds of maps
provide little opportunity for users to ask for additional information, to determine the relationships between different kinds ofinformation and important quantitative analyses. Furthermore,
geological hazards have important temporal attributes. Presenting
these attributes on the map; e.g. the sequence of volcanic eruptions
in a region or the frequency of earthquakes in a particular area during a particular period of time is very difficult. To present thesekinds of information very clearly requires the printing of a series ofmaps.
Conversion of such maps to digital format and the linking of
the maps information to related data in a GIS have many advan-tages. Information given in digital map form is easily accessible topolicy makers or users for decision making and such applications
as education, research and exploration (Champati, 2000).
Accessing information via mainstream GIS software, however,requires sufficient familiarity with the software and a good graspof the spatial information and digital database structure concept.
Most users would find it very difficult to use the system andretrieve the information needed. We offer a system for presenting
geological hazard maps of East Asia in an easy and interactive way
by means of new GIS software that was developed at theGeological Survey of Japan. Its main use is to present geologicalhazard information interactively and to manage and maintain ageological hazard database. Important information can be easily
obtained using this software and simulations of important geological hazard phenomena shown on-screen. This software is called
GeoHazardView.
2. GEOLOGICAL HAZARD DATABASE
The geological hazard information used for the interactive
geological hazard map was obtained from data generated from theEastern Asia Natural Hazards Mapping Project (EANHMP) which
was endorsed by the Coordinating Committee for Coastal and theOffshore Geoscience Program (CCOP) and implemented in 1994
by the Geological Survey of Japan, AIST. That project produced aGeological Hazard Map of Eastern Asia in 2002 (Kato andEANHMP, 2002). Other available sources of geological hazard
information are the published works of Kato et al. (1994) andKato and Shimazaki (1997). The database covers all of East andSoutheast Asia and includes a geological map of those regions.
The volcanic hazard portion of the database includes all major
volcanic eruptions from 0002 to 1997 AD. The volcanic database

KEY WORDS: GeoHazardView, Geological Hazard, Tsunami, Earthquake, Volcano

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consists of 260 records, representing the 260 major volcanoes inthe region. Each record contains the volcano s name, its geographic location (latitude and longitude), height above sea level(m), eruption characteristics, as well as the presence or absence ofcraters or a snow cap, and a topographic caldera depression. The
record also includes the name of the country or region, nearest
town or city, dates of major eruptions, number of casualties in each
eruption, and a picture and satellite image of the volcano. Futureversions of the database will include maps of areas affected by volcanic eruptions, volcanic hazard risk level maps, and volcanic
eruption video clips.
The earthquake hazard portion of the database includes major
earthquakes that occurred in the region from 780 BC to 1999 AD.
It is made up of 1,125 records, each of which contains the location
name (starting with the country or region name), geographic location (latitude and longitude), dates of earthquake occurrences,
numbers of casualties, focal depth (km), magnitude at the epicenter, and whether the phenomena were associated with tsunami.
Future versions of the database will include some pictures andvideo clips.
For the tsunami and landslide database, more information
regarding these geological hazard types has still to be gathered.
The database in the current CD-ROM version contains only vector
data showing areas prone to tsunami and landslides in East andSoutheast Asia.
The geological hazard database will undergo continuous
updating. GeoHazardView software can be used for such updating, but the update feature of this software will not be activated in

the CD-ROM to be distributed. Renewal and updating of the database will take place at the Geological Survey of Japan in order tosynchronize the changes to the database in the CD-ROM. Later
CD-ROM versions will include the updated version of the database. Data compilers from all countries in the region will submit
new geological hazard information to the Geological Survey ofJapan for inclusion in the geological hazard database. The CDROM will be made available to interested individuals or organizations at minimal cost (mainly cost of shipment).
3. GEOHAZARDVIEW SOFTWARE
This software was written with Microsoft Visual C++ programming language at the Geological Survey of Japan. Its main
purpose is to inform users about geological hazards. It is designed
to be very user friendly and is operated in a straightforward pointand click operation. Even those who do not have technical knowledge of geology can easily use this software. It also can be used tomanage and maintain the GIS-based geological hazard information
database.
The types of geological hazard handled by the software arevolcanic, earthquake, tsunami, and landslide hazards. Fig. 1 gives
the general flowchart for the GeoHazardView software. It shows
the major components of the software and the different decisionnodes and possible software courses of actions depending on thedecision path chosen by the user. The software has unique database formats for its spatial and a-spatial information. These can beconverted to other formats compatible with the mainstream GIS

Fig. 1 Flowchart for GeoHazardView software.

INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION OF GEOLOGICAL HAZARD MAPS USING GEOHAZARDVIEW

Fig. 2 GeoHazardView in volcanic hazard mode.

Fig. 3 Simulation of ash distribution from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption.

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Fig. 4 GeoHazardView in earthquake hazard mode.

software.
The novel software uses a geological map of East andSoutheast Asia as its base map. Geological hazard information isreferenced spatially together with the map. The Hazard Map
Display portion involves presentation of a hazard map and related information on the computer screen. The legend and symbols
displayed on the maps are all interactive. They are easily double
clicked to provide more information or to display a simulated
graphic presentation of an important geological hazard event.
Several other features available for interaction with the map can beobtained from the Sub Menu on the Windows menu bar.

a)b)Fig. 5 Information search dialog boxes for searches for earthquake
epicenters of magnitudes greater than 7.0(a) and for volcanoes using the volcano name table (b).

3.1 User Interface
This software interface is typical of the type of GIS software
running under the Windows operating system (Fig. 2). The tool
bar has buttons that control the zoom factor, zoom box, and panning of a hazard map. Scroll bars also are available for navigating
the maps, and the status bar provided is very useful for determining distance changes as the mouse pointer moves over the map.
Choices of geological hazard types, information queries, and otherimportant software features are available on the menu bar. Thehazard map legends also are interactive. Fig. 2 shows a volcanic
hazard map with an interactive legend where a symbol can beclicked to show the locations of volcanoes on the map represented
by that symbol. Simulation of ash distribution from major volcanic eruptions in the region (Fig. 3) also can be viewed by using
the legend. That simulation shows the movement of ash from its
source to the surrounding areas. The speed of its movement away

INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION OF GEOLOGICAL HAZARD MAPS USING GEOHAZARDVIEW

Fig. 6 Query results about earthquakes of magnitudes greater than 7.

Fig. 7 Query results about the Kobe earthquake of Jan. 17, 1995.

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J. BANDIBAS, K. WAKITA AND H. KATOFig. 8 Query results about information on Mount Pinatubo volcano.

from the source is assumed to be directly related to the farthest
point at which ash fall in a particular direction was observed. The
quantity of ash in the air also is assumed to decrease with distancefrom the source. The simulation uses an expanding polygon, thecolor of which ranges from black, at the volcano site, to light grayat the most distant deposition from the volcano. The simulationshows the relative speed of ash movement from its volcanic origin
to the surrounding areas and the relative amount of ash, startingfrom high (black) at the volcano site to low (light gray) with distance as the ash cloud moves away from the origin. The picture ofa volcano also can be displayed by pointing the mouse at the volcano s location on the map. Double clicking the location results inthe display of information about the volcano including an enlarge
picture and a satellite image. Fig. 4 shows the earthquake hazard
map and its interactive legend. Clicking one of the radio buttons
on the legend highlights the earthquake epicenters represented by
the symbols seen in the legend. More detailed information about
an earthquake also can be obtained by directly double clicking theearthquake symbol shown on the map.
3.2 Information Queries
Queries about particular hazard information such as the number of casualties, earthquake magnitude, the location of earthquake
epicenters, and names and locations of volcanoes that erupted in aparticular year can easily be made. Different search methods
choices can be found on the menu bar. Search parameters can bedefined by using the search dialog boxes to extract the informationneeded from the database. Fig. 5 shows examples of search dialog
boxes. Fig. 5a shows the search for earthquake epicenters of magnitudes greater than 7.00. Fig. 5b shows the search for a volcano
through the use of volcano name search dialog box. Results of thequery in Fig. 5a are displayed on the map and tables, as shown inFig. 6. Selecting an item on the table will show further detailed
information about a particular geological event such as the oneshown in Fig. 7. That figure shows the epicenter of the Kobe
earthquake of January 17, 1995. Information about the earthquake,including the magnitude scale, is shown in the dialog box. Thescale shown by the software gives magnitudes from high at the epicenter to low as distance from the epicenter increases. It is agraphical display that highlights the location of the earthquake on
the map.
Additional information also can be obtained by directly double clicking on the symbol given on the map or in the map s legend. Fig. 8 shows the results of double clicking the Mount
Pinatubo volcano site on the map. Information about the volcano
is displayed in the dialog box on the right of the screen. Clicking
the View From Space button on the dialog box displays thesatellite image of the volcano (Fig. 9). Queries using the date thehazard occurred also can be made using the software. The locations of the hazards that occurred for a chosen date will be highlighted.
3.3 Hazard Occurrence Chronology Show
One of the most important features of the GeoHazardView

INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION OF GEOLOGICAL HAZARD MAPS USING GEOHAZARDVIEW

Fig. 9 Query results about the satellite image of Mount Pinatubo volcano.

Fig. 10 Setting the range of years for the geological hazard chronology show.

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J. BANDIBAS, K. WAKITA AND H. KATOa)b)
Fig. 11 Geological hazard occurrence chronology highlighting the locations of volcanoes that erupted in 1821 (a)and those of earthquake epicenters in 1990 (b).

INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION OF GEOLOGICAL HAZARD MAPS USING GEOHAZARDVIEW

software is its ability to show geological hazard occurrence
chronology in a spatial context. The show displays locations ofpast hazard occurrences for a chosen range of years. It involves
the continues increment of years from the earliest to the latest. Thechange in year also will show changes in information displayed on
the map that correspond to new hazard events that occurred duringthat year. The speed of the year increment during the show can beadjusted. Fig. 10 shows the dialog box for choosing a range ofyears for the show. Fig. 11 shows the examples of the show. Fig.
11a displays highlighted locations of volcanoes that erupted in theyear 1821. The list box on the right of the screen gives the namesof the volcanoes highlighted on the map. Detailed information
about a particular volcano on the list can be viewed readily bychoosing the volcano s name in the list box. Fig. 11b shows thehighlighted locations of earthquake epicenters in the year 1990.
The list of highlighted epicenter locations is shown in the list box
on the right of the screen. Detailed information about any earthquake in the list can be viewed by choosing its location name inthe list box.
4. SUMMARY
Interactive presentation of the geological hazard map for
Eastern Asia using GeoHazardView software provides a goodalternative to viewing geological hazard maps and related information in paper form. The ease with which geological hazard infor-83

mation is obtained and the ability of the system to present information in spatial context makes this software very useful to a wide
range of users. It provides an important source of information forland use planners and policy makers, as well as good teachingmaterial for use in elementary and high school science classes.
The software will be continuously improved by adding importantfeatures to future versions.
5. REFERENCES
Champati, R.P.K., 2000. GIS in Geoscience. GIS Development. Online
resource:http://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/gisdev/2000/may/gisg.shtml.
Kato, H. and Eastern Asia Natural Hazard Mapping Project, 2002.
Explanatory Note of East Asia Geological Hazards Map, Geological
Survey of Japan, AIST.
Kato, H., Y. Kinugasa, E. Tsukuda and K. Wakita, 1994. Natural Hazards
Mapping – International Forum. Report No. 281, Geological Surveyof Japan, AIST, 176pp.
Kato, H. and Y. Shimazaki, 1997. An Approach to Natural Hazards
Mapping in Eastern Asia, Eastern Asia Geological Hazard Mapping
Project and Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, 76pp.
Munich Reinsurance Company, 2000. Topics 2000. Natural Catastrophes:
The Current Position. Special Millennium Issue, Munich Re Group,Munich, 126pp.