ABSTRACT
The demand for crisis information on natural disasters, humanitarian emergency situations, and civil security issues has substantially increased during recent years worldwide. The use of Earth observation (EO) data in disaster management is essential to provide large-scale crisis information. Especially in the preparedness, emergency and reconstruction stage of the disaster cycle remote sensing data have been proven to be indispensable for various national and international initiatives. For this reason, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Centre of Space Research of France initiated the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” in 1999 (https://www.disasterscharter.org). This consortium of space agencies and satellite data providers aims at providing a unified system of rapid satellite data acquisition and delivery in case of major natural or man-made disasters. A raising awareness of satellite-based crisis information has led to an increase in requests to corresponding value adders to support civil-protection and relief organizations with disaster-related mapping and analysis. Examples for value adders are as follows: Service Règional de Traitement d’Image et de Télédétection (SERTIT), ZKI (Center for Satellite-Based Crisis Information), Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action (ITHACA), e-Geos, and 146United Nations Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT).
