A Research On Earthquake Symbology

Countries all over the world suffer a lot from earthquakes. With the development of the economy, losses brought by earthquakes are increasing year by year. Protection against and mitigation of earthquake disasters has become part of the national security work. During the course of protection against and mitigation of earthquake disasters, people usually transfer and exchange information by kinds of symbols. The most common symbols are used on maps, paper or electronic. By means of the functions of information transmission and cognition etc. of the map, it is easier to understand the situation of the disaster, analyze the seismic trend and the affected areas for decision-makers to make decisions and engage in management. In addition, before and after the earthquake, in order to eliminate the confusion and panic the earthquake brings, kinds of guiding signs are used to help evacuate people in the disaster areas, distribute the relief supplies and give warnings to the quake-afflicted people and so on. These symbols play an active role in keeping law and order in the disaster areas and settle the masses down.All these symbols are referred to as earthquake symbols. Earthquake symbols are symbols used to cope with the occurrence and development of earthquakes. Nowadays, the research on earthquake symbols is still in its preliminary stage. No country in the world has put forward an integrated hazard symbol system, furthermore, the correlative theories are not yet mature. The earthquake symbols have not yet been made full use of. Therefore, this thesis probes into the theoretical principles of earthquake symbols and explores their classification, designing and applications.Earthquake symbology is the cross of semeiology and seismology when semeiology theories are applied in seismic work. During the mergence, the theories of numerous subjects such as semeiology,mass communication,seismology, etc. are introduced and they act as the theoretical basis , providing the study a train of thought and methodology guidance . Firstly, materials home and abroad on hazard symbology, hazards, and hazard management are collected and sorted out. Then on the basis of analyzing the status of universal symbols and specific symbols for earthquakes, the semeiology connotation of earthquake symbols in theoretical aspects is discussed as follows:1.Earthquake symbols are composed of three basic elements: information on earthquakes (object), earthquake symbols (symbol) and user's interpretation of earthquake symbols (significance). The relations among the three are inner and basic.2.According to Morris's theory,earthquake symbology includes three aspects: syntactic, semantic and pragmatic. The syntactic theory mainly discusses the types, compositions, disciplines and characteristics of earthquake symbols, the semantic theory mainly the relationship between earthquake symbols and the earthquake disaster situation, and the pragmatic mainly the relationship between earthquake symbols and the users and using environment.3.According to Peirce's trichotomy of sign,earthquake symbols can be divided into three categories: icon, index and symbol.4. Earthquake symbols mainly function as tools for information transmission and exchange, emotion expression and aesthetics representation. Secondly, based on the transmission mode of earthquake information, questions that who use the earthquake symbols and what the earthquake symbols transfer are discussed utilizing mass communication theories. The users are decision-making agencies together with their members,experts and scholars on hazards, rescue teams and the quake-affected public. Their usage modes of earthquake symbols and demands to symbols are both different. Earthquake information usually includes two aspects: disaster and disaster management theories. Disaster theories refer to the causes, characteristics and development mechanism of the disaster, the categories, causes and damage of the disaster and secondary disasters. Disaster management deals with the measures taken to prevent or defend as well as its working content and its main task.On the basis of all the work above, this thesis discusses the basic principles which should be followed when the earthquake symbology system is built, and then a theory framework is given according to the principles.Thirdly, by comparison between existing symbols at home and abroad, three ways of constructing earthquake symbol system are obtained, direct citation, reference and alteration, and redesign. In order to solve the problems found when collecting, analyzing, and designing earthquake symbols, this thesis comes up with some principles that earthquake symbol design needs to follow. To map symbols , these are principles of logic, principles of simpleness, and principles of psychology. Principles of logic mainly refer to the logic of symbol structure. In order to carry these principles out, three variables, borderline, status and color, are introduced. To mark symbols, they should obey to principles of logic, popularity and time. Then this thesis talks about the problems that may appear during the design. And a suit of earthquake symbols are given for reference, which is one of the fruits this thesis achieves.The last part focuses on the applications of earthquake symbols in emergency guidance system, earthquake symbol database and seismic hazard maps.1. The earthquake emergency guidance system mainly have the functions of guidance, information telling,apprising, indication, safety, prohibition, warning or restrictions on some kind of actions. It appears in the form of kinds of mark boards or temporal marks. To establish an earthquake emergency guidance system will facilitate the maintenance of order in earthquake areas, help evacuate and rescue.2. Earthquake symbol database is necessary for the achievement of protection against and mitigation of earthquake information system. At present, it has been used in the emergency assistance decision-making system, which is part of the 10th Five Years Programs.3. The seismic hazard map (paper or electronic) is one of the important expressions of the analysis of the earthquake and it is an effective means of observation, analysis and study. It is used to recognize and grasp the distribution characteristics and rules of earthquakes, study the trend of earthquake situation, make regionalization and plans for earthquake management(also including early warning planning before earthquakes and rebuilding planning after earthquakes),deploy relief supplies effectively and make emergency decisions( rescue and evacuation, key objects protection, lifeline recovery ,etc.) . Additionally, it can also be used in earthquake exercises, trainings and relative education. Seismic hazard map can be divided into maps of planning of earthquake hazard control , maps of post-quake sketch, maps of evacuation planning, maps of city function guarantee, maps of secondary disaster prevention, maps of rescue planning, maps of key objects distribution, maps of the seismic intensity zoning and so on.This thesis discusses the earthquake symbols both theoretically and practically, which can be useful references for the foundation of earthquake symbol system. It is expected to call the governments concerned to pay more attention to the research on the earthquake symbols so as to improve the efficiency of emergency decisions, promote the communication and cooperation during different departments and organizations , which can eventually save time for the rescue and assure the earthquake relief work can be undertaken smoothly.