This paper evolved from the results of RADATT (RApid Damage
Assessment Telematic Tool), a project funded by the
European Commission, whose goal was to sensibly reduce
the effects of a devastating seismic event by providing the
responsible agencies a rapid and reliable damage detection
and estimation of the extent and location of the suffered
area. This result was accomplished by the integration, within
a single user interface environment, of data access and standardization
techniques, image processing tools, and GIS technology.
A two-phase operating model has been conceived. In
the pre-event era, images and data about buildings and infrastructures
are collected and analyzed exploiting GIS capabilities.
Immediately after the occurrence of the earthquake,
the system must be ready to receive near-real-time imagery
of the affected area to be compared with the pre-event data
set.
In this paper the capability of this quick change-detection
analysis, given the availability of the pre-event information
in the GIs environment, is discussed.