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m Using current weather satellite data: 
s Detection and localisation of fires (in remote areas only; 
e.g. in Scandinavia or Eastern Europe) 
= Provision of meteorological data (wind speed, 
temperature and humidity) on national and European 
level to support fire management authorities in risk 
assessment and prevention. 
m Using high resolution EO data for medium mapping scales 
and for modelling purposes: 
s Mapping and monitoring of current land use and related 
fuels 
s Fire risk assessment 
= Damage assessment 
= Monitoring of relief and protection activities (regrowth, 
fuel breaks etc.). 
As was demonstrated in the study, local authorities are very 
much interested in the use of EO data. However, technical as 
well as organisational problems like the: 
m Insufficient knowledge about EO data and the related 
technologies 
m Lack of equipment and trained personnel 
m Existence of strong traditions 
m Data costs 
are the main barriers which hamper the use of EO data for fire 
management purposes. 
Under these circumstances the CEO may support the following 
issues: 
m Coordination of international activities with meetings and 
user / data provider groups on INTERNET 
m Facilitation of the access to historical data 
m Fostering of public relation activities to reach the 
inexperienced user groups (foresters, fire brigades, land use 
managers) especially outside the INTERNET, because most 
members of this group do not have access to electronic mail. 
3.2 Storm damages 
The experiences of the storm disaster of 1990, which caused the 
most severe storm damages ever known in Central Europe, can 
be summarised as follows: 
u High resolution optical EO data are the only economic means 
for regional storm damage assessment (when they are 
available shortly after the event!) 
a Despite the fact that the forest services in charge of relief and 
mitigation activities possess only little knowledge about EO 
data the interest in using them is high. 
But there still exist severe barriers in using such data: 
a Data availability, due to frequent cloud coverage during the 
most endangered seasons and the orbit configurations of the 
current EO systems 
® Lack of knowledge about the possibilities of EO data 
8 Lack of equipment and trained personnel for the creation of 
thematic maps from EO data by the forest services 
themselves. 
209 
In order to improve the situation and to prepare the forest 
services for new disasters the CEO should consider the 
following issues: 
m Foster public relation activities to reach the decision makers 
of the Central European forest services (normally key persons 
in the departments of forest planning and inventory). Because 
most members of this group currently do not have access to 
electronic mail other information dissemination means have 
to be used 
m Offer training activities for key personnel (which in many 
cases will include funding for travel expenses, too). 
3.3 Assessment of Flooded Areas 
Floods have recently become a very important peril and risk in 
Europe. Fast assessment of flooded areas is essential for any 
relief action and loss calculation. Two potential customer 
groups, their needs and the contribution of CEO to support their 
relief activities have been identified: 
l. European Assosiation of Fire Brigades (e.g. fire brigades 
working on cross-border relief, see the flooding in Jan. 
1995 in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands). To start 
any relief actions one of their first tasks is the fast 
assessment of inundated areas enabling better relief 
coordination issues: 
The conventional way implicates mapping of flooded areas 
by in-situ observation on the ground. Due to non 
representive point sampling character of this survey often a 
precise mapping is not possible. In addition this method is 
time consuming and expensive. A fast delineation of the 
inundated areas by using EO data could improve this 
process. An inundation map derived from a EO system 
could serve as a basis for the mapping process. It may help 
to locate quickly the flooded areas and a simple verification 
of the map can be executed much quicker. 
In order to meet the requirements from the Fire Brigades 
(End User) the data must keep the following constraints: 
s timeliness : 
= delineation of flooded areas; the extent and the areas 
affected delineated on a topographic map showing 
infrastructure (important for the orientation) 
a scale 1: 50,000 
s high temporal resolution (an image is needed when 
there is a flood event), the delivery of the product must 
be reliable in terms of timeliness and quality 
= currently the map should be analogue. 
2. Insurance Companies (working on an European Level) and 
Re-insurance Companies (working on a world-wide level). 
They need data about the flooded areas for: 
= more accurate calculation and fast loss 
assessment. 
rating 
Taking into account the object and the amount of 
money insured an inappropriate rating of the risk will 
cause severe economic losses for the insurance or 
reinsurance companies. Due to this fact the knowledge 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B2. Vienna 1996