Communicating flood risk through three-dimensional visualisation

Abstract

This paper reports on the creation of a three-dimensional visualisation of flooding in Exeter, UK, which was used to raise awareness of residual and future flood risk. It has proved to be a powerful tool in changing perceptions of flood risk without waiting for a real flood event to occur, resulting in it being trialled elsewhere in the UK. The paper discusses the data, procedures and techniques employed in creating the visualisation and how it was used to communicate flood risk issues to the general public using simulation and visualisation tools. It includes a summary of the feedback from both Exeter and the national extended trial, and explores the future application of three-dimensional flood visualisation in flood risk management.