Remote Sensing in Multirisk Assessment: Improving disaster preparedness

Abstract

Scientific literature reports several possible ways for remote sensing (RS) to contribute to risk assessment for natural disasters, not only from a theoretical perspective but also in concrete applications. However, the typical RS scientist's approach to risk assessment has so far reflected one of the main limitations of the general risk-assessment process where several natural disasters are concerned. That is, to avoid facing the sometimes unmanageable complexities arising from interhazard or vulnerability dependencies, risk-assessment activities tend to focus on one hazard at a time, sometimes leaving dangerous gaps in understanding the real risk for a community or an economic system. Given the current trend in the risk-assessment community to move from a sum of hazards to a multihazard approach, this article builds on previous scientific literature to bring the same perspective to RS. The importance of the subject is supported and explained, a comprehensive review of the existing multirisk assessment approaches is provided, and tangible contributions of space-based Earth observation are highlighted in the different phases of the disaster-management cycle. Different strategies are discussed, and a specific example is presented in depth as one of the most promising approaches.