Disasters: risk assessment, management, and post-disaster studies using remote sensing

There has been enormous progress in remote sensing in the last 60 years that has vastly benefited disaster risk management (DRM), the summary term used here to address risk and management of, and response to, disasters. These developments are the focus of this chapter. This chapter first introduces several key DRM terms and concepts before discussing selected domain developments and the role remote sensing has played in those. The second part of the chapter details a range of relevant trends and developments, as well as remaining gaps and limitations where more work is needed. The chapter only addresses natural risks and disasters, excluding technological events or industrial accidents, as well as complex humanitarian emergencies linked to political or ethnic conflicts.