Using Exercise Maps
The maps used to support various exercises were created during theexercise scenario planning stageusing Depiction mapping, simulation and collaboration software. Depiction Viewer is used for publishing the maps to a web page that is accessed by the ONX System, the online tabletop exercise system utilized for the exercise series.
The maps were purposely designed to be informative yet simple to use. With the maps you’ll be able to go beyond typical spreadsheets and text to discover new opportunities for disaster response, be able to visualize and explore decision alternatives, and increase the value of a shared awareness since many eyes will be viewing the same information and interpreting the information based oneach viewer’s own perspectives, knowledge and experiences. In this way the maps present a visual story about the community relevant to each viewer.
The map area used in the exercise is the area inside the red/orange box. Some maps represent the larger “regional area” around the fictitious exercise community, while some maps represent the exercise community itself. While a real location, and in some instances real data, serves as the model for the exercise the community used is fictitious. The community area that is the focus of the exercise is inside the blue box.The mapped information has been modified from real data or created specifically for this exercise and does not represent the real world.
The following image is a screen capture of a Depiction Viewer map. The base map is OpenStreetMap data which is publicly accessible data.
Basic Map Functions
- In the upper left is a box labeled Legend. Click on the “eye” symbol to open the Legend. The default setting has all layers turned on. You should uncheck all the boxes and then check only those layers you want to view on the map.
- In some maps an aerial photo may beavailable to overlay on an OpenStreetMap to provide a more interesting and “real” background.
- Map controls consist of a Pan Control at the lower left with arrows that can be clicked to move or pan the map north (up), east (right), south (down), or west (left). You can also pan the map by holding the left mouse button and dragging the map.
- Clicking the button at the center of the Pan Control re-centers the map to its default location but does not change the zoom level.
- To the right of the Pan Control is the Zoom Control for zooming in or out of the map. Note: if you have a three-button mouse the wheel can be used to zoom the map in and out.
- To the right of the Zoom Control is a box that displays the latitude and longitude coordinates of the mouse pointer position. You probably won’t need to usethis for the exercise.
Disaster Resistant Communities Group LLC