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.

The ZKI cooperates in the national and international context with various partners from research and industry and is closely networked with official partners and non-governmental organisations. It is mainly based on the national framework contract IF-BUND as well as the international services Copernicus EMS and International Charter "Space and Major Disasters".

Storms and heavy rain cause floods in Western Germany 15 July 2021 Storms and prolonged heavy rain caused numerous floods and associated damage in western Germany. Locations in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate are particularly affected. Several rivers and streams have burst their banks, roads have been flooded and cellars have been filled. Numerous buildings and infrastructures were destroyed in the course of the storms. Currently, more than 40 people have lost their lives and others are still missing. More

Tornado in South Moravia, Czech Republic 24 June 2021 An unusual strong tornado by European Standards, reaching category F3/F4, passed through the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic on June 24, 2021. The tornado claimed several casualties and more than 200 injuries. Seven villages located between Břeclav and Hodonín were devastated by the destructive winds with speeds between 254 and 332 km/h accompanied by hailstones of above-average size. Besides severe damages to buildings, uprooting trees, overturning cars and damage of power transmission infrastructure were also reported. More

“Forest Fire 2021” drill and devising new products with the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) 17 May 2021 On May 17, 2021 a joint “Forest Fire 2021” drill took place involving the Schweinfurt Integrated Control Centre of the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) and ZKI. Using various real-world response scenarios relating to the “forest fire” issue, staff of the Integrated BRK Control Centre in Schweinfurt underwent training in assessing the need for remote-sensing-based disaster information and subsequent activation procedures. More

Earth observation data for the federal administration 05 May 2021 Earth observation data are used in many areas of public administration - for example in traffic analysis, environmental monitoring or crisis management. The importance of these data is increasing, and at the same time, remote sensing results from space or from the air become more accurate and are available more quickly. The Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Construction and Home Affairs (BMI) has now concluded the IF-Bund framework agreement with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is open to all federal authorities. This enables research results from remote sensing to be identified for use in administration and quickly applied in practice. More

Projektstart: AIFER - Künstliche Intelligenz zur Analyse und Fusion von Erdbeobachtungs- und Internetdaten zur Unterstützung bei der Lageerfassung und -einschätzung (02/2021 - 01/2023) Häufigkeit und Intensität von Naturkatastrophen nehmen stetig zu und stellen Behörden und Organisationen mit Sicherheitsaufgaben (BOS) vor zunehmend größere Herausforderungen in Bezug auf die Verfügbarkeit und Nutzung von echtzeitnahen und großflächigen Informationen zur Erfassung und Bewertung der Lage. Zudem gibt es bisher keine Lösungen, heterogene Massendaten, wie Erdbeobachtungs- und Internetdaten, automatisiert auszuwerten und so zu fusionieren, dass ein gesamtheitliches und dynamisch aktualisiertes Lagebild entsteht. AIFER entwickelt Methoden der Künstlichen Intelligenz (KI), um Informationen aus Satelliten-, Luftbild und Drohnendaten sowie aus Geo-sozialen Medien und Nachrichten automatisiert zu extrahieren und intelligent zu fusionieren. More