Applications of remote sensing and GIS for damage assessment

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Remotely sensed imagery data from satellites and airborne platforms have become important tools to assess vulnerability of urban areas and to grasp damage distribution due to natu-ral disasters. The platform and sensors of remote sensing should be selected considering the area to cover, urgency, weather and time conditions, and resolution of images. Satellites with optical and/or SAR sensors can cover much larger areas than other platforms, and hence, they can be used for macro-scale urban modeling and damage detection in large-scale natural disasters. Aerial tele-vision imagery and photography are very useful to observe buildings and infrastructures with high resolution. Thus automated detection of damage is possible using only post-event images or both pre- and post-event images. Use of airborne SAR is also highlighted for 3D urban modeling. In this paper, recent developments and applications of advanced technologies, notably, remote sensing and GIS, are reviewed from the viewpoint of risk assessment and post-event disaster management. 1