In the first hours and days of a humanitarian crisis, good reference maps of the affected region are always in demand. MapAction can now produce these rapidly, using data from the authoritative Times Atlas of the World. The publishers, Collins Bartholomew, have agreed to provide their data free of charge to MapAction for use in emergencies. (Map detail copyright Collins Bartholomew)

Although large-scale base mapping may exist for a country affected by a disaster, it is often not available in digital form -- or even as printed maps -- in the right place at the right time. Agencies and NGOs planning a fast response need good reference maps at the earliest stage, to understand the geography of a part of the world where they may have no previous experience and no good maps to hand.

The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World can be found on the bookshelves of many international organisations as a standard reference work; although with more than 300 large-format pages of maps and illustrations, plus a 200,000 placename gazetteer, it needs a big shelf! The most recent edition, the 12th, was published in September 2007.

The publishers of the Times Atlas, cartographers Collins Bartholomew (www.bartholomewmaps.com), have provided a licence for MapAction to use their atlas data for humanitarian mapping applications, at no charge. The data has global coverage at 1:5 million scale, with several regions also at more detail. The cartographic database is continually updated as political boundaries shift, settlements grow and new roads are built, and even reflects environmental changes: for example the latest edition shows dramatically the shrinkage by 90% of the Aral Sea since the 1960s.

A copy of the atlas database, in GIS-ready form, is being made available to MapAction on demand to use in sudden-onset disasters. Because the data is maintained as GIS layers, it will be straightforward to combine the base mapping with situational data as it becomes available in the field, and to adjust the symbology to ensure good clarity and emphasis of geographical features that are most relevant to the disaster response situation. Collins Bartholomew's team are also providing technical assistance to MapAction to make best use of the data, again at no fee.