Assessing Tsunami Vulnerability in Alexandria, Egypt by using optical VHR satellite data

摘要

Tsunami may cause catastrophic loss of life, destruction of property and engineered structures, and coastal infrastructure, and may lead to major economic losses. The knowledge about elements at risk and their vulnerability is only one element to be known for the setup of effective warning structures and local evacuation planning. If such information is not available yet remote sensing may serve as source of information. In this study it was tried to derive parameters describing physical vulnerability from very high resolution satellite remote sensing data. A DSM was generated from the stereo data and a DEM derived. Additionally, information about building height, number of floors per building, building type and building use were derived. All data was integrated in a GIS and analyzed, resulting in a qualitative classification of physical vulnerability.