Contribution of Pleiades HR imagery for disaster damage mapping : initial feedback over Asia, Africa, Europe or the Caribbean

Involved in disaster management support for more than 10 years, SERTIT’s Rapid Mapping Service is specialized in the rapid delivery of crisis information derived from Earth Observation satellite imagery, in particular within the framework of the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” or European and National emergency programs. This service, available 24/7/365, provides in a rush mode to organizations in charge of crisis management, rescue operations and humanitarian aid up-to-date geo-information showing the extent and the impact of a catastrophic event and its evolution. SERTIT’s Rapid Mapping Service has been activated more than 120 times since its creation and has provided rapid mapping products related to different types of events all over the world, including floods, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, tsunami or volcanic eruptions... The recent launch of the new Pleiades HR constellation providing very high resolution optical products not only increases the number of Earth Observation satellites and acquisition possibilities but also gives further opportunities for disaster damage mapping. Since these launches, many times, CNES, Astrium GEO-Information Services and SERTIT combined their efforts to support disaster management actors, anticipating satellite acquisitions and analyzing crisis Pleiades HR images. Pleiades HR system confirmed its potential for disaster mapping and crisis management through various cases, such as Sandy cyclone over Haiti, Bopha typhoon over the Philippines, Krymsk urban floods in Russian Federation... The first feedbacks are more than positive, demonstrating that Pleiades HR products are fully adapted to emergency response. Its very high spatial resolution allowing precision mapping, essential in critical areas such as urban landscapes or sensitive infrastructures, daily revisit possibility and fast data delivery are significant assets for Earth Observation applications, especially for risk management.