Rapid Characterization of Damages

Rapid damage assessment is critical to aiding search and rescue teams with saving lives and reducing disaster response time, thereby reducing the loss of human lives. Recent technical advances have accelerated progress in remote sensing, which is now playing an important role in damage characterization of different phenomena such as wildfires and earthquakes. Information obtained via remote sensing is a useful resource to inform decision making. Considering the capability of different sensors such as optical and synthetic aperture radar, this chapter mainly focuses on seismic-related damage and corresponding changes in residential areas. Additionally, other aspects of non-seismic damage—such as anthropogenic damage at industrial sites and in forest areas—are also discussed.