DISFLOOD Project launched
On November 17, 2005, the official kick-off meeting of the DISFLOOD project took place at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen. The cooperative project DISFLOOD (Disaster Information System for Large-Scale Flood Events using Earth Observation) was initiated by the Helmholtz-Research Network 'Integrated Earth Observing System' (Helmholtz-EOS) and the United Nations University Bonn, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS). By means of remote sensing technologies, modelling and the involvement of socio-economic data, a disaster information system for large-scale river basins in Germany will be developed. Objectives are to improve and accelerate damage and vulnerability assessment by large scale observation as well as to raise public awareness and support political decision makers.
During the kick-off meeting at Oberpfaffenhofen the four PhD-candidates of the DISFLOOD project became acquainted with each other. They are going to work closely together during the next three years linking the respective participating institutions (UNU-EHS Bonn, GFZ Potsdam and DLR Oberpfaffenhofen). After lunch, Prof. Dr. Janos J. Bogardi, Director of UNU-EHS, welcomed the participants and opened the official meeting. Subsequently, the individual teams of the participating institutions presented an overview of their work and research activities in the framework of DISFLOOD. The DLR with its Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information provides its competence in remote sensing, emergency mapping and disaster monitoring, whereas the GFZ with its Section Engineering Hydrology contributes its expertise in the field of hydrological and hydraulic process modelling and UNU-EHS provides its expert knowledge in the field of vulnerability assessment and disaster risk reduction from an anthropogenic perspective. Finally, objectives and general requirements, data availability as well as the scope of the ongoing cooperation have been discussed. The Elbe flood of the year 2002 was selected as a first regional case study for the DISFLOOD project.
The four PhD candidates of the DISFLOOD project are:
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