Tsunami Disaster Mapping Portal

DM Solutions Group (Canada) and the University of Ottawa (Canada) have released a Tsunami Disaster Mapping Portal (DMapP). This interactive, internet-based infrastructure provides free access to current and historical spatial data for short-term emergency needs, as well as for post-disaster supplies distribution, rehabilitation planning and infrastructure restoration. The targeted data portal was quickly created thanks to the use of Open Source technologies. The Laboratory for Applied Geomatics and GIS Science (LAGGISS) at the University of Ottawa was instrumental in helping obtain and integrate space shuttle and satellite observations. Universities in Thailand and Japan have already contributed high-quality pre and post-tsunami data for inclusion in the data portal and the list of data providers and integrators involved in this international effort is multiplying. The portal also serves as a channel for data sharing between organisations and it is hoped that the many government and aid agencies converging on the disaster area will soon begin to contribute their latest data.