Multi-source satellite data facilitating disaster management during the 2003 forest fires in Portugal

Abstract

After devastating forest fires in central Portugal in July and August 2003 forced the Portuguese government to declare a public calamity for the affected districts, the "International Charter on Space and Major Disasters" was activated on August 4, 2003. For this Charter Call (No. 43) the project management was taken over by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). For monitoring forest fires and burned areas in near-real-time, satellite images from different sensors were ordered, processed, geocorrected and partially analysed. A large scale overview was realised with NOAA-AVHRR, TERRA-MODIS, ENVISAT-MERIS and BIRD imagery. For a more detailed survey of the worst affected areas, SPOT and IKONOS imagery were used. The feedback from the local authorities shows that the combination of satellite imagery with different spatial and temporal resolutions can effectively facilitate on-site crisis management.