Estimating vulnerability

Soon after occurrence of an earthquake many organisations and companies around the world hasten to support authorities and decision-makers of affected areas by creating and making available damage maps derived from remotely sensed data. The recent sequence of earthquakes - from the Sichuan earthquake (May 2008) to the Sendai earthquake (11th March 2011) - has clearly demonstrated the benefits of using remote sensing in the immediate aftermath of a disaster for estimating damage extent and distribution. However, remote sensing is also of great value in the preparedness stage of the disaster management cycle especially for estimation vulnerable sites. This type of information is of great importance for decision-makers to support their efforts to prevent and mitigate the possible loss in lives and property. Notwithstanding its importance, so far research on determination of seismic vulnerability of areas through studying earth observation (EO) data has been sparse.