News release

From School of Geography

27 January 2010

Southampton scientists help new global initiative to assess Haiti earthquake damage

Scientists from the University of Southampton joined a network of over 700 scientists and engineers from universities and other establishments across the world, to give their time over the weekend (23 and 24 January) to assess the impact of the Haiti earthquake.

Volunteers from the University’s Schools of Geography, Engineering Sciences and Electronics and Computer Science worked with the Surrey office of Californian research company ImageCat, to provide an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the extent of the devastation.

Professor Peter Atkinson, Head of the University’s School of Geography, comments: “In the wake of a devastating natural event such as the Haiti earthquake, a quick response is critical. The willingness of Southampton staff and students to contribute their expertise in remote sensing and GIS to help those on the ground was outstanding.”

On behalf of the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the Southampton experts joined colleagues from around the world in studying new very-high resolution aerial imagery of the earthquake area, to establish, in more detail, the number of buildings that have collapsed or are heavily damaged. Their findings are being used to inform the reconstruction programme, and will also be published by the World Bank.

This newly-created initiative, known as operation GEO-CAN (Global Earth Observation Catastrophe Assessment Network), is being coordinated worldwide by ImageCat.

An area of some 300 square kilometres has been divided up into squares, and numbers of squares allocated for damage assessment to each GEO-CAN expert. The aerial imagery they are studying shows high-resolution images of houses, public buildings, cars and vegetation, with detail that even shows the folds in tents in the temporary encampments. This is compared to imagery taken before the earthquake and buildings that have collapsed, or are heavily damaged, are mapped.

Dr Beverley Adams, Managing Director of ImageCat’s European Operations, adds: “GEO-CAN is unique. Nothing like this has existed before, bringing together so many experts willing to devote their time for the greater good of the Haitian people.”

For further information:

Notes for editors: 1. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health, arts and humanities. With over 22,000 students, around 5,000 staff, and an annual turnover of almost £400 million, the University of Southampton is one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning. The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute. 2. ImageCat’s partners include the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and others, working with the World Bank and GFDRR. 3. The GEO-CAN community exceeds 100 organisations. Contributors from 19 different countries are represented: USA, UK, Barbados, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Finland, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, Spain, and Sudan. There are 42 universities represented; 13 government organisations and non-profit-making entities participating in this volunteer assessment; and 46 private industry companies donating their time to this important project. For further information: Glenn Harris, Media Relations, University of Southampton, Tel: 023 8059 3212, email: G.Harris@soton.ac.uk ImageCat UK - Dr Beverley Adams, Tel: 07941 287 313, email: bja@imagecatinc.com or John Bevington, Tel: 01372 278 777, email: jb@imagecatinc.com www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/ Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/southamptonnews