“Earthquakes, Hurricanes and other Disasters: A View from Space”

Ronald T. Eguchi wins EERI's 2008 Distinguished Lecture Award

Ronald T. Eguchi, president and CEO of ImageCat, Inc., headquartered in Long Beach, California, delivered the 2008 Distinguished Lecture, “Earthquakes, Hurricanes and other Disasters: A View from Space,” for the first time on February 7 during the 60th EERI Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

Disasters have acted as catalysts in the adoption of new and emerging technologies. Innovations have often helped emergency responders assess the impact of large disasters more efficiently and rapidly, and track and monitor progress in critical response and recovery operations. The lack of rapid damage or situation assessment tools after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 hindered the deployment of federal resources and thus identified the need for near real-time loss estimation methodologies. GIS took center stage after the 1994 Northridge earthquake by providing important visual and spatial information on critical operations. The World Trade Center attacks demonstrated the potential use of remote sensing technologies for damage assessment and recovery. After Hurricane Charley in 2004, the deployment of GPS-based, field survey technologies helped to freeze in time damage and destruction so that researchers could study comprehensively the effects of significant wind hazards. These examples underscore the opportunities that emerge when time-critical information can be delivered more efficiently to users making critical decisions.

Eguchi emphasized the integration of remote sensing technologies in all aspects of disaster management -- disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. He presented case histories and examples, including the Bam, Iran, earthquake; the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma (all occurring in 2005); and the World Trade Center attacks. Through high-resolution optical imagery and active sensors (e.g., synthetic aperture radar, or more commonly known as SAR, and light detection and ranging or LIDAR), remote sensing technologies have demonstrated significant efficacies in quantifying post-disaster damage, monitoring recovery and reconstruction progress, and more recently, in developing information on urban infrastructure. One main reason for this rapid progress has been the introduction of high-resolution, commercially-available satellite imagery. These technologies have now become readily accessible to the public.

Eguchi ended his presentation with a view towards the future: new developments that can be expected in technology development and implementation, future challenges to realizing their broader application, and the role younger researchers will play in institutionalizing them as essential tools in disaster management.

Groups who wish to invite him to present the 2008 Distinguished Lecture should contact him at rte@imagecatinc.com .