Time constraints, stress, and limited-capacity equipment are among many factors affecting rescue operations. Early warnings may help in evacuation and safety. Good collaboration and understanding is needed between teams in the health sector, the police, the fire brigade and civil rescue personnel; rescue teams of different countries should be able to collaborate as one unit. 3D geo-information plays a key role in the solution of these issues. Prior to the application of 3D geo-information, many problems concerning institutional, legal, structural and standardisation/exchange aspects have to be resolved.

Multi-user Groups
Organisations with normally distinctive mandates today design, store and manage geo-information. These organisations commonly operate independently and work only partially within a multidisciplinary environment; the interoperability of their systems is limited. Yet the real barriers to unified response lie not in lack of data or insufficient technical capabilities but rather in difficulties in making data available, providing the most appropriate data and making systems work co-operatively. Often there is automation, but only for carrying out dedicated tasks. To date, no mature system is able to support multi-user groups. With respect to multi-users, two categories of ‘outdoor’ users can be distinguished: rescue teams and citizens. ‘Indoor’ users include disaster managers, advisors, and observers such as local residents and media. The requirements demanded of a disaster management centre to serve these users, include:

• assembly and effective use of various information sources for planning and control
  
• provision of updated information to community and public; information on the current situation should be provided by on-site rescue teams
  
• transfer of on-site information in almost real-time to the centre for further analysis and redistribution
  
• rapid decisions on warnings and determination of evacuation routes using accurate and reliable geo-information
  
• communities at risk should be informed within minutes of any decisions.

• information at all times, anywhere
  
• search, analysis and processing of all data sources
  
• real-time integration and presentation of data on all mobile and stand-alone systems
  
• alerting and guiding endangered people to safe area and guiding rescue teams to the endangered and to co-workers, under any circumstances
  
• individual and intuitive interfaces.

• users can better and faster orient themselves
  
• users get an adequate perception of the situation; the many 3D games which are part of the daily life of youngsters indicate change for real-world applications
  
• more sophisticated analysis and high realistic presentation of data.

• 3D data structures and applications addressing short-time response
  
• ontology for 3D data integration (multi-resolution, multi-temporal, multi-topology, indoor/outdoor, multi-domain)
  
• 3D analysis, especially in 3D navigation considering environmental and human factors
  
• data standards for import/export based on XML and GML
  
• context-aware engines and agents for query and analysis with respect to the front-end (content of situation, content of devices, content of human condition).

• GNSS being operational outside, and quite accurate
  
• telecommunication networks being available inside but very inaccurate; companies are seemingly unwilling to invest in
  further developments towards accurate 3D positioning
  
• WLAN, which is broadband, being possibly mobile but requiring further research for implementing 3D positioning.

• intelligent switching between different types of communication networks, and approaches for positioning systems
  
• compression of 3D data
  
• context-aware user profiles for monitoring status of mobile devices, emergency status of situations, etc.

• Cutter, S. L., Richardson D. B. and Wilbanks T.J. (eds.) 2003, The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism, Taylor and Francis, New York, ISBN 0-415-94641-7.
  
• Kwam, M.P. and J. Lee, 2003, Emergency response after 9/11: the potential of real-time 3DGIS for quick emergency response in micro-spatial environments, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, in press (available online www.sciencedirect.com).
  
• Zlatanova, S. and D. Prosperi (edt.), 2005, Large-scale 3D data integration: problems and challenge, CRC Press (Taylor & Francis), to be published.

Dr Sisi Zlatanova is research scientist in the GIS Technology Section, OTB, of the Delft University of Technology. In 2000 she obtained her PhD from Graz University of Technology in Austria with a dissertation on 3D GIS for urban modelling. Her research interests focus on the 3D aspects of geo-information. She chairs ISPRS WG IV/8.

Dr Andrea G. Fabbri is professor of Geoinformation for Risk Analysis at the Spatial Information Laboratory (SPINlab) of the Free University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He also holds the chair of environmental geology at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Milan, Italy. In 1981 he obtained a PhD in Geology from the University of Ottawa, Canada. His present research interests are in the digital representation of environmental indicators and indices and the spatial predictive modelling of natural hazards and environmental impacts. He is scientific secretary of ISPRS WG IV/8.

Dr Jonathan Li is assistant professor of Geomatics Engineering with the Department of Civil Engineering, Ryerson University, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2000 he obtained his PhD in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. His research interests include satellite remote sensing of urban environments, mobile mapping, Web-based environmental visualisation, wireless geospatial information systems, and spatial data integration for emergency services. He co-chairs ISPRS WG IV/8.