BVOT Vulnerability Mapping

OMB Control Number: 0648-XXXX
Expiration Date: XX/XX/20XX

Mapping Vulnerabilities for the BVOT Using Google Earth Pro
● If you don’t already have it, download the free Google Earth Pro, desktop application
o https://www.google.com/earth/versions/#earth-pro
▪ Go to “Google Earth Pro on Desktop”
▪ Select “Download Earth Pro on Desktop”
● If working off a shared project, open the appropriate file in Google Earth Pro desktop. If
the file is a .kml file that has been emailed to you, your Google Earth should automatically
open the file. You can also open the file from google drive. If the file opens in Google
Earth Online, you will need to save the project as .kml to open in Google Earth Pro.
● If you are starting a new project:
o Open your Google Earth. Under “My Places” on the left side of the screen,
right-click and add a “New Folder.” Label the folder based on your location.
o Now that you have a folder, create subfolders for the individual hazards (such as:
tornado, fire, flood, winter…). To do this, right-click on the new folder. Select
“Add,” then select “Folder.”
o Once you have your folders labeled, you can start adding points.
● Adding Points and Polygons:
o Make sure the folder you are interested in selected
o Find where you want to place the point or polygon on the map
o On the top toolbar, you can select the point (placemark) icon.
▪ You can also right-click on the folder, select “Add,” and then select
“Placemark” or “Polygon”
o If adding a point (placemark): The text box will pop up and a point will be
highlighted in yellow. From here, you can move the point around with your
mouse by clicking and dragging.
o Name feature (See below).
o If adding a polygon: The text box will pop up. If you move your mouse around
the screen, you will see that your mouse/pointer is now a square. This is the draw
feature. Click to add a point, and drag to create a line to the next point. Continue
clicking and dragging until you have a full shape.
o If you want to do more circular features, you can keep the mouse clicker held
down and simply outline your location of interest.
o Name feature (see below)
● Labeling and describing shapes and polygons
o Once the shape is drawn (or point added), you can provide a title/name for the
point or polygon along with additional information. This is in the textbox that
popped up when you initially added the point or polygon. You can easily
right-click on the feature in your left menu to rename, copy, and move the features
as well.
o Enter all the relevant information for each point or polygon into the “Name”
textbox. DO NOT ADD TEXT TO THE DESCRIPTION BOX. This solves the
problem of additional code showing up with attributes. In a single line, provide
the Name, the Hazard, the Vulnerability, and the Brief.

▪

Keep information succinct—keeping information succinct aids in
usability.
● If the location has multiple HAZARDS, copy the file in your menu (under “My Places”)
and paste it into the relevant folders.
Once done, you can save each hazard folder as a .kml by simply right-clicking the folder, select
“Save Place As” and save as .kml  (not .kmz).