Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

Post-earthquake fires: risk assessment and precautions

Earthquakes have great damage potential and importance in risk management and structural engineering, causing fires in buildings such as residences and commercial spaces. Post-earthquake fires (PEF) are secondary disasters that can cause material and moral destruction and loss of life. Similar to natural disasters, they show the time of occurrence and possible scenarios in places. This study aims to analyse and examine what precautions can be taken to prevent or minimize PEF through risk assessment. In this study, a literature review was conducted with the tracking method, focusing on examples from the world where the fires that occur as a secondary effect of the earthquake can cause devastating damages and significant disasters, and inferences are made by classifying the data obtained. Many factors, such as gas leaks due to earthquakes, cracks in pipelines, and short circuits in electrical installations, can cause fires. In addition, flammable liquid or combustible gas emissions and fire protection disturbances create significant fire hazards after earthquakes. In this paper, in which the causes and consequences of fires are analysed, risks, the evaluation process depending on the risks, the precautions that can be taken according to the situations that the risks will cause, and the models developed are emphasized. The research is a reference study with the expectation that there will be an increase in the number of studies examining experimental and physical PEF models