Many Plans: Multidimensional Ensembles for Visual Decision Support in Flood Management

Abstract

Uncertainties in flood predictions complicate the planning of mitigation measures. There is a consensus that many possible incident scenarios should be considered. For each scenario, a specific response plan should be prepared which is optimal with respect to criteria such as protection, costs, or realization time. None of the existing software tools is capable of creating large scenario pools, nor do they provide means for quick exploration and assessment of the associated plans. In this paper, we present an integrated solution that is based on multidimensional, timedependent ensemble simulations of incident scenarios and protective measures. We provide scalable interfaces which facilitate and accelerate setting up multiple time-varying parameters for generating a pool of pre-cooked scenarios. In case of an emergency, disaster managers can quickly extract relevant information from the pool to deal with the situation at hand. An interactive 3D-view conveys details about how a response plan has to be executed. Linked information visualization and ranking views allow for a quick assessment of many plans. In collaboration with flood managers, we demonstrate the practical applicability of our solution. We tackle the challenges of planning mobile water barriers for protecting important infrastructure. We account for real-world limitations of available resources and handle the involved logistics problems.