Map Entropy Analysis of Topographic Data Used in Disaster Information Systems

Abstract

Disaster Information Systems has been an important research and application area in Turkey following the Kocaeli Earthquake in 1999 and the other ensuing natural disasters. In 2002, a project called “TABIS (Türkiye Afet Bilgi Sistemi – Turkish Disaster Information System)” was initiated by Istanbul Technical University (ITU) to meet the requirements of the Ministry of the Interior of Turkey. The goal of this project was to develop the standards of a Geographical Information System (GIS)—based information system which could then be used for emergency planning and administration, disaster information and loss estimation, and as a decision support system for central and local authorities (ministries and local administrative units) at other times. The project named “ISTABIS (Istanbul Afet Yönetim Bilgi Sistemi – Istanbul Disaster Management Information System)” is an application of the standards of the TABIS project for a city. This system is a GIS-based information system and includes the basic standards disseminated in the TABIS project. Analyzing the intensity of topographic objects in a disaster information system is a considerable factor in gathering data during the installation progress and defining the optimal data. Optimal data is defined as the minimum necessary data for the aim and usage of the system which does not cause complexity on the screen. Thus, data excess and time-wasting are prevented by gathering optimal data in disaster information systems. Entropy Theorem is used for measuring the statistical information. Although entropy is the second law of thermodynamics, it was introduced in the quantification of information. In this study, an evaluation of the ISTABIS object catalogue and map data is processed. The amount of statistical information content of the object catalog and topographic maps of the ISTABIS project are measured using entropy and the results are investigated for determining the optimal data.