UNOSAT has released on the internet the Atlas of Tsunami Damages on Saval´i & Upolu Islands, Samoa. UNOSAT Humanitarian Rapid Mapping service was activated at the request of UN humanitarian agencies involved in the response to the disaster.

This atlas map product illustrates satellite-detected areas of likely building and vegetation damages caused by the magnitude 8.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami on 29 September 2009. A total of 9 separate focus maps are included, highlighting damage sites identified from post-disaster satellite imagery collected from 30 September to 4 October 2009.

The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Samoa sent a note of thanks for the work performed by UNOSAT team of analysts and confirmed that the results were made available in the field to the UNDAC/OCHA team, the Samoa Government counterparts and relevant UN and international, regional organizations involved in the response efforts.

This work was made possible thanks to the contribution of satellite data by the International Space Charter on Space and Major Disasters, a commitment by various national space agencies and the European Space Agency to help the international humanitarian community operate more efficiently by using rush satellite derived geographic information to plan and coordinate relief operations.