Rapid Damage Assessment and Situation Mapping: Learning from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

The paper reports on the activity of the Center for Satellite based Crisis Information (ZKI) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on 12 January 2010. DLR/ZKI closely coordinated with the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program and the International Charter Space and Major Disasters. All DLR/ZKI damage maps are based on a specific analysis approach, including preprocessing procedures and visual interpretation on a grid-basis. As the satellite-based mapping response globally was so extensive for this event, problems resulting from the large number and inconsistency of satellite maps generated internationally are addressed. In order to avoid this kind of "mapping challenge" in future the setting-up of an international working group to elaborate global guidelines and cooperation procedures for better coherence of international satellite rapid mapping efforts for extreme events such as the Haiti earthquake is suggested.