Scientific and appropriate visualizations increase the effectiveness and readability of disaster information. However, existing fusion visualization methods for disaster scenes have some deficiencies, such as the low efficiency of scene visualization and difficulties with disaster information recognition and sharing. In this paper, a fusion visualization method for disaster information, based on self-explanatory symbols and photorealistic scene cooperation, was proposed. The self-explanatory symbol and photorealistic scene cooperation method, the construction of spatial semantic rules, and fusion visualization with spatial semantic constraints were discussed in detail. Finally, a debris flow disaster was selected for experimental analysis. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively realize the fusion visualization of disaster information, effectively express disaster information, maintain high-efficiency visualization, and provide decision-making information support to users involved in the disaster process.

Because mobile virtual reality (VR) is both mobile and immersive, three-dimensional (3D) visualizations of disaster scenes based in mobile VR enable users to perceive and recognize disaster environments faster and better than is possible with other methods. To achieve immersion and prevent users from feeling dizzy, such visualizations require a high scene-rendering frame rate. However, the existing related visualization work cannot provide a sufficient solution for this purpose. This study focuses on the construction and optimization of a 3D disaster scene in order to satisfy the high frame-rate requirements for the rendering of 3D disaster scenes in mobile VR. First, the design of a plugin-free browser/server (B/S) architecture for 3D disaster scene construction and visualization based in mobile VR is presented. Second, certain key technologies for scene optimization are discussed, including diverse modes of scene data representation, representation optimization of mobile scenes, and adaptive scheduling of mobile scenes. By means of these technologies, smartphones with various performance levels can achieve higher scene-rendering frame rates and improved visual quality. Finally, using a flood disaster as an example, a plugin-free prototype system was developed, and experiments were conducted. The experimental results demonstrate that a 3D disaster scene constructed via the methods addressed in this study has a sufficiently high scene-rendering frame rate to satisfy the requirements for rendering a 3D disaster scene in mobile VR.