Ten years after Hurricane Katrina: monitoring recovery in New Orleans and the surrounding areas using remote sensing

Abstract

© 2016, Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Remote sensing data have been widely used in pre-hazard prevention/preparation, emergency response and post-hazard recovery monitoring. Hurricane Katrina caused serious damage to the environment, society and economy in the southern United States in 2005. On the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we monitored the recovery process in New Orleans and the surrounding area based on remote sensing. Results from multi-source remote sensing data indicated that the average vegetation conditions of the affected areas have not fully recovered compared with the pre-disaster conditions, especially in the hurricane’s landfall area. Analysis from moderate resolution Landsat data showed that many civil engineering works have been undertaken in the city of New Orleans to prevent future disasters. Frequent observation using high-resolution images recorded the progress of some of these civil construction projects (e.g. the 17th Street Canal pumping station) in New Orleans. In this case study, we illustrated the capabilities of remote sensing techniques in recovery monitoring following a natural disaster. International/institutional cooperation is suggested to improve Earth observation capability in hazard monitoring. More Chinese Earth observation data are expected to be used in international monitoring.