Investigations of disaster information representation from a geospatial perspective: Progress, challenges and recommendations

Abstract The complexity of disasters creates a significant challenge in the knowledge acquisition of the public. With the development of geospatial technologies, maps, geographic information science, and virtual geographic environments are widely used to represent disaster information and help the public better understand disaster risk. However, the application, design, and specific challenges have not been investigated comprehensively in disaster information representation thus far. This article presents the weaknesses and strengths of the existing methods for representing disaster information in recent decades, and then gives some basic ideas for efficient disaster knowledge communication. The objective of this article is to provide a clear image that improves users’ understanding of disaster information and bridge the communication gaps in disaster management.