Response to Flood Events: The Role of Satellite-based Emergency Mapping and the Experience of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service

This chapter focuses on the emergency mapping activities generally carried out to support the immediate response to flood events, mainly describing the role of satellite data. An introduction on emergency mapping is provided, presenting the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS), the emergency mapping service provided by the European Union (EU) in the frame of the Copernicus Program. The ongoing relevant international initiatives and their link with the Copernicus EMS are presented. The focus is on the mapping activities related to the response phase of the emergency management cycle, also known as Rapid Mapping. The main goal of Rapid Mapping activities is described and discussed, i.e., the identification of the affected areas and, when possible, the assessment of damages to the main assets (e.g., infrastructures, agriculture, etc.). A brief analysis of relevant disaster statistics shows the occurrence trend of flood events, explaining why most of the emergency mapping activations are related to this type of disaster. The operational methodologies (and the input data types) generally exploited to identify flooded areas and to assess flood related damages are described, highlighting advantages and limitations.Lastly, potential new developments made possible by new technologies (e.g., satellite constellations decreasing the revisiting time and unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] providing imagery with a higher level of detail) are discussed.