THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR COMPILING THE ATLAS OF NATURAL DISASTERS IN CHINA

This article inquires into theoretical and practical problems on compilation of an atlas of regional natural disasters. (1) The basic theory of compiling an atlas of regional disasters has been founded on the combination of the sciences of disasters, cartography and regional geogrphy. The content structure of a regional disaster atlas should be composed of at least the following five parts:hazard-formative environments and hazard-affected bodies,hazards, disaster effects, monitoring and warning system for natural disasters, and countermeasures for natural disaster reduction. (2) Contents of cartographic design of a regional disaster atlas should be composed of at least the following five parts: base map system, cartographic representation, Symbol System, color system, map edition and map layout system. (3) Based on theory and cartographic design of compiling an atlas of regional disaster, the Atlas of Natural Disater in China, which reveals objectively the temporal and spaial pattern of regional natural disasters of China,has been compiled and published.