The Remote Sensing Response to September 11th

Remote sensing technology has been widely recognized for contributing to emergency response efforts after the World Trade Center Attacks on September 11th, 2001. The need to coordinate an event of this magnitude in a dense yet relatively small area made the combination of imagery and data maps very powerful. This paper introduces aerial imagery, satellite imagery, and LIDAR data use at Ground Zero. It examines how emergency managers used the data, how it might have been used, and what needs to be done to ensure effective use in the future. In order to plan adequately for future events, it was important to capture knowledge from those who responded to the World Trade Center. Interviews with key emergency management and GIS personnel provide the basis of this paper. Successful techniques should not be forgotten and problems encountered should not be dismissed. Although widely used after September 11th, it is important to recognize that with better planning, remote sensing and GIS could have played an even greater role.