User-driven flood response & monitoring information – Key findings of the Data4Human project

The provision of reliable and quick spatial information in case of a crisis event is still a crucial aspect regarding relief actions. Remote sensing data can be a source of large-scale and up-to-date information. Within the Data4Human project, researchers and users from NGOs jointly worked on crisis-related demand driven data provision. In the following paper, we take a closer look on two aspects of the project that provide users with access to i) a flood monitoring tool and ii) to a quick damage assessment AI methodology. Both approaches were developed for the flood event of cyclone Idai in Mozambique 2019 and are based on satellite data. However, the results are transferable to other regions. They show that the methods provide a reliable information source for first aid workers on the ground as well as for coordinators from humanitarian organizations. Furthermore, the methods and the results are easily accessible and can also partly be integrated automatically into the humanitarian organizations workflow.