How Remote Sensing Improves Disaster Management

Here's another article from the ecoresolve team focusing on disaster risk reduction through remote sensing. Determining when, where and which routes are optimal for deploying boats is critical during flood events, especially for coastal communities. This aligns closely with our work on blue carbon and coastal ecosystem conservation initiatives, which leverage mangroves as a nature-based solution for coastal protection during flood events. -- #18 of 2024: UAVs as a Tool for Optimizing Boat-Supported Flood Evacuation Operations -- Key highlights from our work underscore how UAVs enhance traditional flood evacuation efforts, while also pointing to areas for improvement in technology and policy integration. 1. Real-Time Data Collection and Aerial Monitoring - UAVs can provide immediate, real-time data on flood conditions, helping to assess affected areas quickly. This allows rescue teams to adapt their strategies based on current flood patterns and environmental conditions. 2. Optimal Route Planning for Boats - By mapping flood zones from above, UAVs can identify the safest and fastest routes for rescue boats, reducing response times and increasing the efficiency of evacuation operations. 3. Improved Coordination Between Rescue Units - UAVs support better coordination between different rescue teams by relaying real-time information on water levels, obstacles and potential hazards, which aids in synchronizing boat deployment and rescue operations. 4. Challenges in Large-Scale Data Management - While UAVs offer valuable data, managing and processing this information on a large scale remains challenging, especially during emergencies, due to the volume of data and processing needs. 5. Need for Enhanced Policy Frameworks and Training - The integration of UAVs in disaster response calls for updated policy frameworks and specialized training programs for operators. This ensures the effective and safe use of UAVs in emergency scenarios. -- Interesting in delving more? Feel free to connect and/or check out our article. Article link: https://lnkd.in/gxkxe8Vn -- Hope you enjoy the read and please feel free to reach out to me or Lara Moussa if you have any questions/comments/collaborative propositions. Also, thanks again to the amazing ecoresolve team and driven collaborators! Raluca Diaconu, PhD Michael Watt Enrique Muñoz Mónica Rivas Casado Eben North Broadbent Margherita Bruscolini Willie Doaemo -- At ecoresolve, we are currently developing projects in the US, Latin America, Middle East and the Asia Pacific at the intersections of mangrove restoration, seagrass mapping, blue carbon markets, remote sensing, biodiversity conservation, community engagement, disaster management, climate extremities, public health and ecotourism, and would love to connect with like-minded researchers and experts. -- Cheers! Mikey #floodevacuation #drones #disastermanagement #remotesensing

🛰️🛰️Some basics on application of LiDAR in Wildfire Ecology:🛰️🛰️ LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology has become a crucial tool in wildfire ecology, providing high-resolution data that improve wildfire risk assessment, fire behavior modeling, and post-fire recovery analysis. 🔥1. Pre-Fire Applications: • Fuel Load and Vegetation Structure Mapping: LiDAR enables precise estimation of forest fuel loads by generating 3D vegetation structure maps, which help assess wildfire risk. • Fire Behavior Modeling: Integrating LiDAR-derived vegetation and topographic data into fire models enhances predictions of fire spread, intensity, and behavior. 🔥🔥2. Active Fire Applications: • Real-Time Fire Monitoring: LiDAR-equipped drones and aircraft help track active fires by providing detailed assessments of fire progression, plume behavior, and fireline intensity. 🔥🔥🔥3. Post-Fire Applications: • Burn Severity Assessment: By comparing pre- and post-fire LiDAR scans, researchers can quantify vegetation loss, soil burn severity, and changes in canopy structure. • Forest Recovery Monitoring: LiDAR data are used to track post-fire regrowth, detecting early signs of vegetation recovery and guiding reforestation efforts. 💻4. Integration with Other Technologies: • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning: AI-powered analysis of LiDAR data improves wildfire risk assessment and automates post-fire damage evaluation. • Multispectral and Hyperspectral Fusion: Combining LiDAR with optical remote sensing enhances fire impact assessment and vegetation health monitoring. Conclusion: LiDAR technology is transforming wildfire ecology by improving pre-fire risk assessment, active fire monitoring, and post-fire recovery studies. As remote sensing and AI technologies advance, LiDAR will play an even more significant role in wildfire management and mitigation. References: • Fuel load estimation with LiDAR: https://lnkd.in/gykv5aHE • LiDAR in fire behavior modeling: https://lnkd.in/gHCcs7R9 • LiDAR for real-time fire monitoring: https://lnkd.in/gQTzX-n5 • Post-fire LiDAR applications: https://lnkd.in/ghzz-ttS • AI and LiDAR in wildfire management: https://lnkd.in/gs4gH6qX #WildfireEcology #LiDAR #RemoteSensing #AI #MachineLearning

When you think of NASA, disasters such as hurricanes may not be the first thing to come to mind, but several NASA programs are building tools and advancing science to help communities make more informed decisions for disaster planning. Empowered by NASA’s commitment to open science, the NASA Disasters Program supports disaster risk reduction, response, and recovery. A core element of the Disasters Program is providing trusted, timely, and actionable data to aid organizations actively responding to disasters. Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana Aug. 21, 2021, as a category 4 hurricane, one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes in the continental United States on record. The effects of the storm were widespread, causing devastating damage and affecting the lives of millions of people. During Hurricane Ida, while first responders and other organizations addressed the storm’s impacts from the ground, the NASA Disasters program was able to provide a multitude of remotely sensed products. Some of the products and models included information on changes in soil moisture, changes in vegetation, precipitation accumulations, flood detection, and nighttime lights to help identify areas of power outages. The NASA team shared the data with its partners on the NASA Disasters Mapping Portal and began participating in cross-agency coordination calls to determine how to further aid response efforts. To further connect and collaborate using open science efforts, NASA Disasters overlaid publicly uploaded photos on their Damage Proxy Maps to provide situational awareness of on-the-ground conditions before, during, and after the storm. Immediate post-storm response is critical to saving lives; just as making informed, long- term response decisions are critical to providing equitable recovery solutions for all. One example of how this data can be used is blue tarp detection in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Using artificial intelligence (AI) with NASA satellite images, the Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT), based at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, conducted a study to detect the number of blue tarps on rooftops in the aftermath of hurricanes, such as Ida, as a way of characterizing the severity of damage in local communities. “NASA is dedicated to ensuring that our scientific data are accessible and beneficial to all. Our AI foundation models are scientifically validated and adaptable to new data, designed to maximize efficiency and lower technical barriers. This ensures that even in the face of challenging disasters, response teams can be swift and effective,” said Kevin Murphy, NASA’s chief science data officer. “Through these efforts, we’re not only advancing scientific frontiers, but also delivering tangible societal benefits, providing data that can safeguard lives and improve resilience against future threats.” #AI #NASA #IMPACT

Today, Nature Communications published our latest research, led by Amit Misra from Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab: a global flood detection model built using 10 years of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite data. It can detect floods through clouds, at night, and in remote areas—filling a critical gap in global disaster data. Already in use in Kenya and Ethiopia, this open-source tool is helping governments respond faster and plan smarter. It’s a powerful example of how AI can drive climate resilience.

Satellite achieves autonomous decision-making in space using onboard AI in 90 seconds A briefcase-sized satellite successfully used onboard AI to autonomously decide where and when to capture scientific images, completing the entire decision cycle in under 90 seconds without human input. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory tested the "Dynamic Targeting" technology aboard a satellite built by UK startup Open Cosmos, equipped with machine learning processors from Dublin-based Ubotica. The system scans 500 kilometers ahead of the satellite's orbit, captures preview images, and analyzes cloud cover in real-time. Clear skies trigger detailed surface photography, while cloudy conditions prompt the satellite to skip shots entirely. This intelligent filtering saves bandwidth, storage capacity, and processing time while dramatically improving data quality for scientists. Traditional satellites function as passive data collectors, imaging whatever passes beneath them and transmitting everything back to Earth for later analysis. The AI-powered approach enables immediate disaster response capabilities, potentially detecting wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and severe storms within minutes rather than days after post-processing. The breakthrough builds on previous International Space Station demonstrations and represents a fundamental shift toward autonomous space-based intelligence that could transform Earth observation, climate monitoring, and emergency response systems. 🛰️https://lnkd.in/e-b_f-Xw

States need smarter tools to address today’s natural disasters | by Peter T. Gaynor CEM® and Andy Read Hurricane season is here and communities are on their own more than ever. Federal aid is slower, storms are deadlier, and local teams are stretched thin. But there's a game-changer: real-time satellite data. Tools like Synthetic Aperture Radar cut through clouds and chaos to deliver instant flood maps and damage insights, helping responders act fast and save lives. The future of disaster response isn’t coming. It’s already here. You can read the full Op-Ed at The Hill in the comments. FEMA The White House US Department of Homeland Security National Governors Association United States Conference of Mayors National Association of Counties National Emergency Management Association International Association of Emergency Managers U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation BIG CITY EMERGENCY MANAGERS National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI) McChrystal Group FEMAPete Bright Harbor Disaster Recovery Coalition of America