INTERNATIONAL ISO

STANDARD 22578

First edition
2022-02

Graphical symbols — Safety colours

and safety signs — Natural disaster
safety way guidance system
Symboles graphiques — Couleurs de sécurité et signaux de sécurité
— Système de guidage pour mise en sécurité en cas de catastrophe
naturelle

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ISO 22578:2022
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22578-2022

Reference number
ISO 22578:2022(E)

© ISO 2022
ISO 22578:2022(E)

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ISO 22578:2022
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22578-2022

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 ISO 22578:2022(E)

Contents Page

Foreword......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................v
1 Scope.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions..................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
4 Purpose and deployment............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
5 ​Planning natural disaster safety way guidance systems.......................................................................................... 3
6 Signs used in natural disaster safety way guidance systems............................................................................... 3
6.1 Signs.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
6.2 Supplementary direction arrow signs................................................................................................................................ 5
6.3 Supplementary symbols and suitability marking.................................................................................................... 6
7 Structure of a natural disaster safety way guidance system................................................................................ 7
7.1 Overview of structure....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
7.2 Warning signs........................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
7.3 Evacuation plan signs........................................................................................................................................................................ 9
7.4 Evacuation route signs.................................................................................................................................................................. 10
7.5 Place of refuge signs........................................................................................................................................................................ 13
8 iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
Bilingual signs...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
9 Identifiability and legibility of signs under daylight and night-time conditions .......................... 15
10
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Installation of natural disaster safety way guidance systems ......................................................................... 16
10.1 General......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
10.2 Sign positioning...................................................................................................................................................................................
ISO 22578:2022 17
10.3 Durability ..................................................................................................................................................................................................
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11 Repair, maintenance and inspection............................................................................................................................................ 18
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Annex A (informative) Examples of installations of natural disaster safety way guidance
systems......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Annex B (informative) Distance factors and sizing visual elements............................................................................... 27
Annex C (informative) Daylight and night-time illumination conditions.................................................................. 31
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 32

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ISO 22578:2022(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
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expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
(standards.iteh.ai)
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 145, Graphical symbols, Subcommittee
SC 2, Safety identification, signs, shapes, symbols and colours.
ISO 22578:2022
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Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
22578-2022

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 ISO 22578:2022(E)

Introduction
There is a need to standardize a system for giving safety information related to evacuation to safety
evacuation areas in the event of natural disasters that relies as little as possible on the use of words to
achieve understanding.
It is extremely important for people who do not understand the local language to figure out the
evacuation route instantly when they encounter a natural disaster in a foreign country.
This document reflects best practice; the illustrations show installation practice designed to provide
the optimum amount of information to clearly identify the hazards of different types of natural disaster
in order to direct evacuation by the appropriate location of evacuation route signs and evacuation plan
signs, and the selection of places of refuge.
International travel increases the need for standardized methods of safety communication. A
standardized method of signing with the use of appropriate supplementary signs and text throughout
the public environment assists the process of education and instruction on the meaning of the
evacuation route signs and place of refuge signs, and the appropriate actions to take.
The illustrations within this document are based on the assumption that people might be unfamiliar
with the features of the natural disaster or the location of places of refuge.
It is important that the application of safety way guidance systems is standardized to aid
comprehension. While education in the comprehension of the signs and evacuation plan signs is
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essential, incomprehension caused by lack of standardization can lead to confusion and possibly hinder
effective evacuation.
(standards.iteh.ai)
This document does not purport to include all the necessary aspects or requirements of the design of a
natural disaster safety way guidance system. Users are responsible for its correct application.
ISO 22578:2022
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ISO 22578:2022
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22578-2022
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 22578:2022(E)

Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs —

Natural disaster safety way guidance system
IMPORTANT — The colours represented in the electronic file of this document can be neither
viewed on screen nor printed as true representations. For the purposes of colour matching
see ISO 3864-4, which provides colorimetric and photometric properties together with, as a
guideline, references from colour order systems.

1 Scope
This document specifies the principles governing the design and application of signs and plans used to
create a natural disaster safety way guidance system to help people evacuate to safe areas or places of
refuge in case of natural disasters (e.g. tsunamis, floods, debris flows, steep slope failures, landslides,
tornados, large-scale fires, active volcanoes).
This document provides guidance on the selection and use of safety signs conforming to ISO 7010,
public information symbols conforming to ISO 7001, and text on evacuation route signs, places of refuge
signs and evacuation plan signs for information related to one or more particular natural disasters.
Guidance on the design, location, mounting positions and maintenance of the sign components of a
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natural disaster safety way guidance system is also provided.
This document does not apply to the determination of the need for natural disaster safety way
(standards.iteh.ai)
guidance. This document assumes that the risk assessment or requirements of an enforcing authority
have established the need for such natural disaster safety way guidance systems.
This document is not applicable to the particular hazards of high winds, snow avalanches, earthquakes
ISO 22578:2022
or hurricanes, which cause the natural disasters covered in this document.
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This document is applicable to safety way 22578-2022
guidance from natural disasters from the outside of buildings
to safe areas. ISO 16069 is applicable to safety way guidance within a building to the emergency exit(s).

2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 7010, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Registered safety signs
ISO 3864-1, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 1: Design principles for safety
signs and safety markings
ISO 3864-3, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 3: Design principles for graphical
symbols for use in safety signs
ISO 3864-4:2011, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 4: Colorimetric and
photometric properties of safety sign materials

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://​w ww​.iso​.org/​obp

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ISO 22578:2022(E)

— IEC Electropedia: available at https://​w ww​.electropedia​.org/​

3.1
evacuation plan
map or diagram displayed in public areas to assist users to understand the environment, locate facilities
and determine evacuation routes to reach a safe area
3.2
evacuation route
direction from a person's location to the nearest safe area when a disaster occurs
3.3
natural disaster safety way guidance system
system that includes evacuation plan signs and evacuation route signs, and provides information to
guide people from a location to a place of refuge when a natural disaster occurs
3.4
natural disaster supplementary sign
sign indicating the type of possible disaster
Note 1 to entry: Appropriate evacuation area and other related information are also displayed.

3.5
ordinary material
material which is not retroreflecting, fluorescent or phosphorescent, and neither involves powered
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light emission nor is activated by a radioactive source
[SOURCE: ISO 3864-4:2011, 3.11, modified]
3.6
(standards.iteh.ai)
phosphorescent material
material incorporating phosphors that, if excited ISO 22578:2022
by UV or visible radiation, store energy, which is
emitted ashttps://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/120739f2-4693-4d21-b8c1-1f421e135d43/iso-
light over a period of time
Note 1 to entry: A phosphorescent sign is the same as 22578-2022
“photoluminescent”, commonly used in the literature of the
photoluminescent safety sign industry.

[SOURCE: ISO 16069:2017, 3.15]

3.7
place of refuge
outdoor area or indoor space to which people can quickly evacuate in order to remain safe when a
disaster occurs or is likely to occur
Note 1 to entry: Places of refuge include protection shelters, outdoor refuge areas, tsunami evacuation areas and
tsunami evacuation buildings.

3.8
protection shelter
facility that provides protection from a disaster
3.9
sign height
diameter of a circular geometric shape or height of a rectangular or triangular geometric shape of the
type of safety sign
Note 1 to entry: Registered safety sign originals in ISO 7010 are in a uniform 70 mm size with corner marks to
enable accurate enlargement and reduction scaling. A border is not shown.

[SOURCE: ISO 20712-3:2020, 3.8, modified — Note 1 to entry revised.]

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 ISO 22578:2022(E)

4 Purpose and deployment

The natural disaster safety way guidance system is necessary to warn people in areas likely to be
affected by a disaster when it occurs and help them take suitable action quickly according to the type
of disaster.
The objective of the natural disaster safety way guidance system is to display information about the
hazards of possible natural disasters in vulnerable regions so both visitors and people living in the
region can evacuate quickly.

5 ​Planning natural disaster safety way guidance systems

Where risk mitigation plans related to natural disasters have been prepared and are available to civil
protection agencies or relevant authorities, a natural disaster safety way guidance system can be
designed to communicate important safety and evacuation information to populations in zones that
can be affected by one or more types of natural disaster.
The designer of the system should identify the following, based on the mitigation plans:
a) locations of hazard zones;
b) locations of places of refuge and their names;
c) suitability of places of refuge for certain disasters;
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d) locations of evacuation routes to places of refuge;
e) (standards.iteh.ai)
locations of accessible routes in the event of floods from inland waters and fire disasters;
f) locations of rescue facilities (e.g. medical, firefighting);
ISO 22578:2022
g) locations of facilities for enabling emergency evacuation (e.g. helicopters, lifeboats);
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h) locations of emergency communication equipment;
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i) locations of available emergency services, such as water and energy supply;
j) appropriate supplementary text on evacuation route signs, such as information on recorded heights
of water at locations within flood zones;
k) use of local language(s) and other languages;
l) other sources of warning information, such as national and local media, and sound alarms.

6 Signs used in natural disaster safety way guidance systems

6.1 Signs
The safety sign components of natural disaster safety way guidance signs shall be registered safety
signs from ISO 7010. Supplementary signs and combination signs shall meet the design requirements of
ISO 3864-1. Signs used in natural disaster safety way guidance systems are shown in Table 1.
Safety signs shall be based on ordinary material or phosphorescent material. Safety signs shall meet
the colorimetric and photometric specifications of ISO 3864-4 under the test conditions relating to
safety signs being externally illuminated.
NOTE ISO 3864-4 defines colour under certain test conditions and not all conditions of observation of safety
signs. Phosphorescent safety signs during luminance decay mode lack colour recognition of the green; however,
they are designed such that the luminance contrast enables the graphical symbols to be or remain identifiable.
Ordinary signs lack colour discrimination in night-time illumination.

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ISO 22578:2022(E)

Classification of emission colour of phosphorescent material is given in ISO 3864-4:2011, Annex B.

Table 1 — Signs used in natural disaster safety way guidance systems

Safety signs Supplementary
Type of disaster
Warning signs Safe condition signs signs

Tsunami

ISO 7010‑E062 ISO 7010‑E021

Tsunami evacuation Protection shelter
area

ISO 7010‑W056
Warning; Tsunami Tsunami
hazard zone
Storm surge

ISO 7010‑E063
Tsunami evacuation
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building

(standards.iteh.ai)
Flood (including
flood from inland ISO 22578:2022
waters)
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ISO 7010‑W077
ISO 7010-E065a ISO 7010‑E021
Warning; Flood zone 22578-2022
Proposed new sign; Protection shelter Flood
Outdoor refuge area

Debris flow
ISO 7010‑W076
ISO 7010-E065a ISO 7010‑E021
Warning; Debris Debris flow
flow zone Proposed new sign; Protection shelter
Outdoor refuge area

Steep slope failure

ISO 7010‑W078
ISO 7010-E065a ISO 7010‑E021
Landslide Warning; Landslide Landslide
zone Proposed new sign; Protection shelter
Outdoor refuge area
a This safety sign is subject to registration/co-ordination through ISO/TC 145 and is currently at enquiry stage.

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Table 1 (continued)
Safety signs Supplementary
Type of disaster
Warning signs Safe condition signs signs

Large-scale fire
ISO 7010‑W073
ISO 7010-E065a ISO 7010‑E021
Warning; Large scale Large scale fire
fire zone Proposed new sign; Protection shelter
Outdoor refuge area

Tornado
ISO 7010‑W074
ISO 7010‑E021
Warning; Tornado Tornado
zone Protection shelter

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Volcano (standards.iteh.ai)
ISO 7010‑W075
ISO 7010‑E021
Warning; Active ISO 22578:2022 Volcano
volcano zone Protection shelter
a
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This safety sign is subject to registration/co-ordination through ISO/TC 145 and is currently at enquiry stage.
22578-2022
6.2 Supplementary direction arrow signs
Arrows in direction signs shall be used in conjunction with safety signs to indicate the direction of
movement a person should take to reach the indicated destination. The format of the direction arrow
shall be arrow type D from ISO 3864-3. The meanings of different arrow orientations are shown in
Table 2.

Table 2 — Use of supplementary direction arrow signs

Arrow Meaning

Proceed to the right from here

Proceed to the left from here

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ISO 22578:2022(E)

Table 2 (continued)
Arrow Meaning

a) Proceed forward from here

b) Proceed forward and through from here

c) Proceed forward and up from here

a) Proceed up to the right from here

b) Proceed forward and across to the right from here

Proceed down to the right from here

a) Proceed up to the left from here

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b) Proceed forward and across to the left from here

(standards.iteh.ai)
Proceed down to the left from here
ISO 22578:2022
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Proceed down from here

6.3 Supplementary symbols and suitability marking

Because the construction and location of a place of refuge might only be appropriate for particular
natural disasters, it is necessary to indicate the type of disasters for which places of refuge are
appropriate. Place of refuge signs help people who are unfamiliar with the area to properly identify a
specific building’s or area’s suitability or unsuitability as a place of refuge.
In areas where different types of natural disaster can occur, the civil protection agency or authority
shall decide on the suitability of the places of refuge for a certain disaster.
In place of refuge signs and evacuation route signs, the appropriate supplementary symbols given in
Table 1 should be used to indicate whether a place of refuge is suitable or unsuitable for protection
from hazards associated with one or more types of natural disaster.
Where it is necessary to warn people that the place of refuge is not suitable for particular types of
natural disaster, an “x” or diagonal bar should be displayed.
A green tick may be used to indicate suitability. The green tick may be replaced by another element
appropriate to the cultural requirements of the target audience.
Examples of suitability and unsuitability markings are presented in Figure 1.

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 ISO 22578:2022(E)

Figure 1 — Examples of markings displaying suitability for floods but unsuitability for debris
flow, landslides or large-scale fires

For examples of signs, see Figures 6 a) and 6 b).

7 Structure of a natural disaster safety way guidance system

7.1 Overview of structure

In order to effectively and efficiently guide people to specific places of refuge when natural disasters
occur, it is important for the system’s signs to provide evacuees with clear, seamless directional
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information so they do not lose their way. The structure and content of the guidance system should
be consistent with the information requirements defined in the planning stage (see Clause 5). The
structure of seamlessly designed natural disaster safety way guidance systems is shown in Figure 2.
(standards.iteh.ai)
Natural disaster safety way guidance systems shall provide warning signs, evacuation plan signs,
evacuation route signs and place of refuge signs continuously along the evacuation route in accordance
with the risk mitigation plan. ISO 22578:2022
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