Publication Date:
2016-04-21
Description:
Intense rainfall during late April and early May 2015 in Texas and Oklahoma led to widespread and sustained flooding in several river basins. Texas state agencies relevant to emergency response were activated when severe weather then ensued for six weeks from May 8 until June 19 following Tropical Storm Bill. An international team of scientists and flood response experts assembled and collaborated with decision-making authorities for user-driven high resolution satellite acquisitions over the most critical areas; while experimental automated flood mapping techniques provided daily on-going monitoring. This allowed mapping of flood inundation from an unprecedented number of space- and air-borne images. In fact, a total of 27,174 images have been ingested to the USGS Hazards Data Distribution System (HDDS) Explorer, except for the SAR images used. Based on the Texas flood use case, we describe the success of this effort as well as the limitations in fulfilling the needs of the decision-makers, and reflect upon these. In order to unlock the full potential for Earth observation data in flood disaster response, we suggest in a call for action (i) stronger collaboration from the onset between agencies, product developers and decision-makers; (ii) quantification of uncertainties when combining data from different sources in order to augment information content; (iii) include a default role for the end-user in satellite acquisition planning; and (iv) proactive assimilation of methodologies and tools into the mandated agencies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Print ISSN:
0043-1397
Electronic ISSN:
1944-7973
Topics:
Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying
,
Geography
