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Draft emergency plans that cover the landscape at risk 
Increase the information, training and education in land use at all community levels as the events of November 
1994 and of May 1998 have indicated that both basic and technical environmental risk knowledge is low or non existent 
Non structural interventions on the landscape do not entail modifications of the terrain. They do not aim to 
decrease the probability of occurrence of a hazard and the ensuing damages but rather aim at increasing knowledge 
about the potential disasters, developing reliable forecasting models and improving relationships with local residents. 
These activities rely greatly on the availability of appropriate cartography starting with the delimitation of the risk areas 
(zoning) which is fundamental for the planning of terrain modifications brought about by large scale industrial and 
residential developments. 
In general we can say that cartography helps in two ways, in the prevention and in the post event assistance 
(including in this the most immediate steps after the event and those related to reconstruction and restoration) 
In Italy, the Compagnia Generale Ripreseaeree (CGR) in its activity of documenting by aerial photography and 
photogrammetry the catastrophic events of the last decades has identified a possible model of organizing the cognitive, 
photogrammetric, topographic and cartographic activities relative to national environmental disasters. It does this by 
means of digital color orthophotos and satellite positioning systems to locate and circumscribe real and potential 
disaster areas thus aiding the development of forecasting models, a correct estimate of damages and a rational planning 
of post event operations. The digital orthophoto as a metrical information tool for the preparation of risk maps is an 
extremely versatile and concrete means for geographic monitoring and for coordinating disaster activities with a 
dynamic component making it capable of being adjusted to all technological evolutions and land use variations. 
THE DIGITAL COLOR ORTHOPHOTO 
The orthophoto may be defined as cartography with a photographic base that maintains the planimetric 
tolerances of the traditional maps at the same scale to which is or may be associated and an elevation content of 
equivalent precision. The orthophoto is less costly and more rapidly available than the equivalent traditional map while 
it integrates the principal characteristics of aerial photography (informational content) and of traditional maps (metric 
content). The primary users are first of all those concerned with civil defense, environmental protection, land use 
planning, public works, agriculture, cadaster, soil studies, geologic mapping, hydrology, archeology, etc.. 
For Italy the CGR is producing a color digital orthophoto coverage of the entire country at the nominal scale of 
1:10 000 and ground resolution of 1m. It is the result of the differential rectification of aerial photography taken during 
may-september 1998 with 150mm cameras at the relative altitude of 6000m. The images are digitized and 
georeferenced in the National geodetic-cartographic system (Roma40- Gauss Boaga) with geometrical adjustments 
made on the basis of a digital terrain model specifically made for the purpose. 
The minimal module is made up of a section of the regional technical map at the scale of 1:10 000 and it is 
fitted within the 1: 50 000 National cartography of the Istituto Geografico Militare (IGM), the official national 
cartographic agency of the country, as a submultiple called a sezione, in analogy with the definitions of the Italian 
Geodetic Commission 
LAND INFORMATION FOR THE PREVENTION OF DISASTERS 
From a practical point of view it is necessary to define the quantity and quality of the information instruments 
needed for drafting hazards’ operational plans; in brief the landscape information needed by the civil defense 
organizations. If we consider the needs of prevention, three different levels of land use information become apparent: 
A first level cartographic system or a location level 
A second level cartographic system or a working level 
A third level cartographic system or a detail level 
Although the documentation for the first two levels must be prepared for all areas defined as vulnerable, that 
for the third level needs to be developed only where the morphologic characteristics of the terrain or the risk type 
demand it. The first level of location requires tools to determine the general boundaries of the event and the detection of 
the risk areas. It should also be possible to assess generally the structures and the infrastructures involved (roads, 
  
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000. 107