Keep it simple: user-focused flood risk visualisation

Abstract

From complex server-dependent geographic information systems to simple sheets of paper, there is a myriad of flood risk visualisation approaches available, each with specific strengths and weaknesses. This paper discusses existing methods and tools to identify both common and novel features, and investigates how these traits affect their suitability for satisfying the requirements of different users and their technical requirements. The paper introduces a flexible web-browser-based tool focusing on delivering flood extents and key additional information (including critical infrastructure) in a user-friendly and resilient manner, without the need for network access or the installation of specialist software. Its development and implementation in the Midlands region of the UK's Environment Agency is discussed and its impact in use on flood incident management is investigated with the aid of user feedback.