disaster mapping – The Map Room https://www.maproomblog.com Blogging about maps since 2003 Wed, 24 Oct 2018 13:50:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.maproomblog.com/xq/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cropped-logo-2017-04-32x32.jpg disaster mapping – The Map Room https://www.maproomblog.com 32 32 116787204 Mapping Natural Disasters in France https://www.maproomblog.com/2018/10/mapping-natural-disasters-in-france/ Wed, 24 Oct 2018 13:50:55 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1786484 More]]> In response to the latest round of flash floods in France, The Local has a piece looking at natural disasters in France that points to a set of interactive maps from France Info (in French; page doesn’t work well in Safari) that show the number of natural disasters, by commune, since 1982, as well as the number of disasters due to flooding and drought. The maps indicate where the disaster hot spots are in France and (to some extent) where they aren’t: only 3.5 percent of French communes have never had a disaster declaration in that period. Sixty percent of the disasters were due to flooding; The Local also points to the Global Flood Map: zooming in sufficiently shows the zones for high and moderate risk of flooding. [Gretchen Peterson]

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Hurricane Michael’s Impact https://www.maproomblog.com/2018/10/hurricane-michaels-impact/ Wed, 17 Oct 2018 18:48:34 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1786454 More]]> It’s after the fact, at least in terms of initial landfall (if not aftermath), but maps I’ve seen of Hurricane Michael include the USGS’s Hurricane Michael page, which includes an event support map and a map of coastal change impacts; and imagery from the Suomi NPP satellite that shows the path of Hurricane Michael through the power outages left in the storm’s wake.

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When Mobile Maps Can’t Keep Up with Road Closures https://www.maproomblog.com/2018/10/when-mobile-maps-cant-keep-up-with-road-closures/ Tue, 02 Oct 2018 22:59:47 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1786339 More]]> During a natural disaster like Hurricane Florence, crisis maps can be an invaluable source of information about road and bridge closures and other infrastructure outages. Trouble is, that information doesn’t always trickle down to mobile phones, which is where most people get their maps. (Especially when authorities have trouble keeping up with road closures on their own maps.) CityLab’s Clare Tran explores this question, looking at, for example, how Waze incorporates road closure data from Esri and its volunteers.

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The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team and Puerto Rico https://www.maproomblog.com/2017/10/the-humanitarian-openstreetmap-team-and-puerto-rico/ Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:30:45 +0000 http://www.maproomblog.com/?p=5213 Both Atlas Obscura and CityLab look at efforts by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team to update and improve the quality of maps in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Previously: Volunteers Mapping Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico.

 

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Volunteers Mapping Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico https://www.maproomblog.com/2017/10/volunteers-mapping-post-hurricane-puerto-rico/ Mon, 02 Oct 2017 16:00:55 +0000 http://www.maproomblog.com/?p=5067 More]]> When disaster strikes, crowdmapping kicks into high gear. Last Friday, six universities hosted mapathons where volunteers, using satellite imagery, contributed to the map of Puerto Rico and other hurricane-damaged areas on OpenStreetMap. More from one of the universities involved. Here’s the relevant project page on the OSM Wiki.

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Mapping the Damage in Puerto Rico https://www.maproomblog.com/2017/09/mapping-the-damage-in-puerto-rico/ Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:07:03 +0000 http://www.maproomblog.com/?p=5034 More]]>
NASA-JPL/Caltech/ESA/Copernicus/Google

At NASA’s Earth Observatory, before and after images of Puerto Rico’s nighttime lights illustrate the extent of power outages and infrastructure damage on the island. NASA has also produced a map of likely damaged areas of eastern Puerto Rico, based on before and after radar satellite interferometry and similar to the map they produced for the Mexican earthquake. At ground level, the CrowdRescue Puerto Rico Infrastructure Map displays crowdsourced reports of damage—downed power lines, bridge collapses, floods, mudslides and other incidents.

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Mapping the Earthquake in Central Mexico https://www.maproomblog.com/2017/09/mapping-the-earthquake-in-central-mexico/ Mon, 25 Sep 2017 19:00:15 +0000 http://www.maproomblog.com/?p=4951 More]]>
The New York Times

This crowdsourced map of collapsed and damaged buildings in Mexico City (in Spanish) appeared shortly after the 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit central Mexico on 19 September [via]. NASA also produced a map, based on radar data from the ESA’s Copernicus satellites that compared the state of the region before and after the quake. Interestingly, the data was validated against the crowdsourced map.

The New York Times produced maps showing the pattern of damage in Mexico City and the extent and severity of earthquake shaking (the Times graphics department’s version of the quake’s Shake Map, I suppose) as well as how Mexico City’s geology—it was built on the drained basin of Lake Texcoco—made the impact of the quake much worse.

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Alberta Flood Maps https://www.maproomblog.com/2013/06/alberta-flood-maps/ Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:26:56 +0000 http://www.maproomblog.com/2013/06/alberta-flood-maps/ More]]> This is a list of maps related to the flooding in southern Alberta (Calgary, Canmore, Bragg Creek, High River, Okotoks, etc.). This list will be added to as needed. Feel free to contribute additional links in the comments.

Update, 10:15 PM:

Update, June 22 at 8:25 AM:

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