GIS4048 Module 3: Natural Hazards - Tsunami

The March 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan served as a reminder of the importance of planning for natural and nuclear disasters. GIS provides a comprehensive system for producing maps and graphics to aid in such natural and nuclear disaster planning. This lab assignment tasked students with mapping the evacuation zones around the Fukushima Nuclear Power Point as well as determining the at-risk populations within each of those zones. The lab also included determining evacuation zones based on actual measurements of tsunami "run up" (observed maximum water height above a reference sea level) and identifying at-risk cities, roads, and nuclear power plants in those zones. This information was consolidated in one map:

Evacuation Zones in Vicinity of Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant

Production of the map began with creating a file geodatabase to keep data organized. Feature datasets were created in the file geodatabase and then populated with imported shapefiles. All of the feature datasets were assigned the same projected coordinate system (WGS 1984 UTM 54N). One Excel file was converted and added to the geodatabase. As it was for several other students, creating raster datasets and mosaicking the DEMs caused plenty of issues. Many thanks go out to Brandon and Aaron for their very helpful discussion board posts which resulted in successful completion of that part of the lab. All of this organized data then was used to complete the second portion of the lab.

The second portion of the lab included creation of another file geodatabase and data creation using selection by location, buffering and clipping, extracting by mask, creating a graph (to determine breakpoints for classes of data), and model building. The model built was very involved and awesome to see in action. The flexibility and ease with which changes could be made to the model were appreciated. Another new technique learned in this lab was how to build label expressions. While many of the processes (especially those used to determine the run-up evacuation zones) are not among those that I use often, with continued practice I expect that they will be easier to use and troubleshoot should the need arise.

Finally, the information was synthesized into one map showing the evacuation zones around the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and the evacuation zones for tsunami run-up. This was a lot of information to pack into a single map, but, as the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". In all honesty, now I am feeling a bit vulnerable about living 75 feet above sea level.