Deploying the Google Earth Engine in support of development of Open Critical Infrastructure Exposure for Disaster Forecasting, Mitigation and Response.

Abstract:

This presentation will address the application of Google Earth Engine (GEE) in a NASA Disasters project “Open Critical Infrastructure Exposure for Disaster Forecasting, Mitigation, and Response,” led by ImageCat, CIESIN, and HOTOSM. The grant addresses the lack of a consistent global database to characterize critical infrastructure (CI) and key economic assets such as industrial facilities. As with global population datasets, a global CI database would not provide facility-level detail but would instead provide a consistent geographic distribution suitable for the assessment of risk. Urban areas are complex systems with interconnected “lifeline” networks and economic engines propelled by CI, and when these sever in a disaster, the resulting economic stagnation is felt far beyond the limited direct damage. In this grant, we are working towards expanding the ability to model catastrophic impacts of infrastructure disruption by providing a foundation for CI exposure development with earth observation (EO).

A recent award from the GEO-GEE Programme will be used to deploy the powerful Google Earth Engine platform in support of this CI exposure development. The award will facilitate rapid technical progress through GEE’s extensive catalog of geospatial data and planetary-scale analysis capabilities. The resulting CI exposure data being produced by the project will be suitable for the types of risk studies prioritized by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) that are currently being implemented by NGOs in developing countries. Data will be delivered openly and globally to developing countries and all those interested in risk, as well as integrated into commercial products for global risk identification and management. EO-derived CI data are used by CAT models and loss estimation tools in order to identify mitigation and adaptation strategies before an event occurs. A pilot is currently underway in India, and the team will soon expand their exposure work to developing countries globally. The award will allow ImageCat to strengthen connections with the GEO Work Program’s activities such as GEO-DARMA, EO4SDG, GUOI, and the Human-Planet project (involving both CIESIN and ImageCat) to advance SDG objectives. This presentation will demonstrate early results in the pilot State of Gujarat, India.