Design of the data model for information support in the field of civil protection of municipalities

Abstract

This article describes the design of a data model for the purposes of civil protection. The objective of the data model is, in particular, to support the planning and preparation of civil protection and sheltering of the population. The article also defines key entities and attributes of the resulting data model (DM). Subsequently, it verifies the proposed DM in practice by implementing it in the real-life conditions of the town of Uherské Hradištĕ in the Czech Republic. Crucial areas of planning and preparation of civil protection are identified based on the analysis of valid legislation and other materials. In this respect, the article aims to create system support for the processes of civil protection. In order to design the data model an E-R diagram is used and processed in the drow.io diagram editor. The data model is designed using scientific methods of analysis, observation, abstraction, and especially modeling. Not only do these methods serve for the identification of key entities and their attributes but they are also used for creating the conceptual and logical data scheme. Individual entities and their attributes constitute a conceptual data scheme of the civil protection data model. In addition, the article outlines a logical data scheme of the civil protection data model in which formats of individual entities and attributes are indicated. MS Excel was selected for the design of the logical data scheme. By the end of the article the hypothesis of standardization of residential houses when mapping premises for improvised shelters (IS) is presented and verified. This hypothesis was developed during the DM implementation in the town of Uherské Hradište. The application and usability of the resulting DM were also verified there. Outputs of the implementation confirm the hypothesis of standardization and they also demonstrate the importance of using spatial tools in the planning processes of population sheltering. © 2019, World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society. All rights reserved.