The Center for Satellite based Crisis Information (ZKI) is an institution of the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen.

At ZKI Earth Observation data such as satellite or aerial imagery as well as geo data is acquired and analysed in order to generate up-to-date situational awareness information before, during or after a disaster situation or in case of major events. All crisis information is produced according to the ZKI users’ requirements and provided for instance as maps, geo-pdf, web services or text dossiers. Main national and international user groups are political decision makers, situation centers and relief organisations. Many ZKI products are published at the website. In addition, consultancy, technology transfer as well as trainings and exercises are provided. The close interlocking between research, development and service is an enormous strength of the ZKI.

At national and international level ZKI cooperates with different partners from research and industry. It is closely networked with administrative partners as well as non-governmental organisations and consists mainly of the three services ZKI-DE, Copernicus EMS and the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters”.

Visit of the Federal Criminal Police Office at the ZKI 03 Mai 2019 Since 2013, the ZKI-DE Service has enabled the short-term purchase and analysis of current and past remote sensing data for federal authorities. From the data, ZKI-specific and user-defined products are created at the ZKI. More

Another meeting between BKG and ZKI 17 April 2019 Since 2013, the ZKI-DE Service has been enabling federal agencies the supply and analysis of recent and past remote sensing data to generate ZKI- and user specific products on short notice. Within the recent frame contract (2017-2020) between the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) and the DLR, the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) should be qualified to offer the multifarious operational tasks of the ZKI-DE Service to be able to provide the standard service from 2021 ongoing by themselves. More

Karlheinz Busen and Bernd Reuther visit ZKI 01 April 2019 Two members of the German Bundestag, Karlheinz Busen (FDP) and Bernd Reuther (FDP), visited the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen on 28 March 2019 to hear about activities in the areas of digitisation, agriculture and transportation. They were particularly interested in the subject of "traffic applications" at the Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) of the Earth Observation Center (EOC). More

Tropical Cyclone Idai hits Mozambique and Zimbabwe 22 March 2019 The Tropical Cyclone Idai is regarded as one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere as a whole. The storm caused catastrophic damage in multiple nations, leaving so far more than 600 people dead and hundreds more missing. Idai brought strong winds and caused severe flooding in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. More

EU Commissioner visits ZKI 06 March 2019 The EU Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, (European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) visited DLR on 5 March 2019 and was particularly interested in the practical application of the research work within the operational ZKI Services. More

Successful test for the International Disaster Trial “The Netherlands” in the DRIVER+ Project 28 February 2019 From 18.-22.02.2019 the first technical dry run for the trial "The Netherlands" took place within the framework of the EU-funded FP7 project DRIVER+. DRIVER+ brings together innovative (technical) solutions for crisis management and tests them in Europe-wide demonstrations. DLR is involved in the project with four institutes, including the Earth Observation Center (EOC) with ZKI. More

Steffi Lemke visits ZKI 11 February 2019 Steffi Lemke, member of the Bundestag (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), visited the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen on 8 February 2019 and was particularly interested in the work of the ZKI. More

"DLR Humanitarian Technology Days": UN World Food Programme and DLR sign agreement 08 February 2019 The ZKI participated in the DLR Humanitarian Technology Days in order to present and discuss the possible added value of satellite remote sensing for the support of humanitarian aid organisations in case of a crisis. More