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ERDC/CRREL TR-02-11
severity of damage can be developed from direct observation, imagery can be
made available and is useful in the collation of reports from scattered observers.
Observation of the impact area is necessary for federal declaration of a disaster;
for estimation of damage to residential, commercial, and government buildings
and infrastructure; and for direction of the USACE and other agencies' emer-
gency management response.
Emergency response
After an actual site visit by the FEMA administrator and/or a representative
from the executive office, a disaster declaration may be made and the attendant
federal assistance authorized. While the assessment is done either on the ground
or by air, initial analysis and mapping from either satellite or aerial imagery can
give impetus to the process. Conflicting or inaccurate ground reports can be
resolved or rapidly dispelled by viewing overhead imagery, enabling a more
accurate assessment of damage area extent and conditions.
Management efforts
Management of response and recovery missions requires knowledge of high-
way access to and from the affected area; of buildings being used as shelters; of
warehousing; and of distribution points for water, ice, food, temporary roofing,
and donated supplies. Sites are evaluated for the locations of temporary debris
storage and sorting, generators, and temporary housing. Areas for containment of
toxic materials can best be determined in conjunction with imagery and maps.
Post-event imagery may be used both to improve mitigation efforts that always
require wide-area observation of present conditions and to counter future threats.
Rapid image surveys
While the benefits that can be provided by imagery are well known, numer-
ous difficulties have prevented the timely incorporation of image products into
the group of technologies commonly used by emergency managers. There are
time lags between identifying the impact zone and contracting for, acquiring,
processing, and delivering the imagery to the end user. Post-processing delays
exist that are necessary to project the imagery into map coordinates so that they
can be entered into a GIS in conjunction with other geospatial data. The imagery
must also be analyzed so the data becomes information. As a result, in many
disasters, the potential for the use of imagery has been much greater than the
benefit derived from it.
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