12. Applications: Hazards

Objectives

In this section we explore the ways remote sensing tools can be used in hazard assessment and disaster management. We look in detail at case studies of flooding, earthquakes and climate change with a special emphasis on malaria related to climate change.

Remote sensing can be a vital tool in dealing with the geo-hazards faced on planet earth. Remote sensing can be useful in two main ways:

  1. Assessing risk to prepare for a known hazard e.g the potential of a slope to fail as a mudslide is a function of many factors some of which can be assessed from remote sensing including plant cover and land use.
  2. Delivering Aid after a disaster. For example, remote sensing was used in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake to identify collapsed buildings and blocked streets which could be used by aid agencies trying to help in the aftermath.

 

A natural hazard is a process which has the potential for significant human impacts. A disaster is the occurrence of a natural event with significant human and social impacts.

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