Incorporating remote sensing into emergency management

There are few examples where remote sensing is incorporated seamlessly into all stages of the emergency management cycle. To achieve this, a collaborative effort is required from emergency managers, policy planners, and remote sensing technical staff that may not always be co-located, or even working for the same organisation. Remotely sensed imagery is becoming cheaper and more readily available, and some satellites and constellations are targeting (at least partially) the emergency management/emergency response community in recognition of the value remotely sensed imagery can provide to decision makers. In this article we highlight some of the uses of remote sensing with respect to emergency management, and encourage emergency managers to seek the support of technical staff to incorporate remote sensing into emergency management planning.