“Before” © CNES 2014, Distribution Airbus DS, and “After” © CNES 2015, Distribution Airbus DS.
Since the devastating earthquake in Nepal on 25 April, members of the international mapping community have been working hard to assist recovery operations on the ground.
The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) has been organising thousands of volunteers to improve coverage and access of OpenStreetMaps, which will aid the ongoing recovery operations.
Tomnod has also been crowdsourcing efforts to identify the damage using DigitalGlobe’s satellite imagery.
Airbus Defence and Space has acquired Pléiades satellites imagery to support the International Charter and Copernicus Emergency Management Service. The data acquired has since aided rescue organisations in the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Mapbox has published easily accessible maps such as Nepal Freshness, which shows level of change in the roads since the earthquake, and Nepal Damage Analysis, which visualises the estimated level of damage to buildings across the region.
ESRI has provided a collection of smart maps to visualise the ongoing developments such as a swipe map, a public information map and the story map of the initial impact.
Dr Robert Parker and researchers at University of Cardiff’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences have been assisting recovery efforts through their new computer program known as ShakeSlide. The program analyses local environmental conditions to help disaster assessment teams determine the risk of landslides.
You can help Nepal by either donating to humanitarian organisations such as Oxfam, Unicef and Save the Children or assisting HOT or Tomnod.
