In the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in Asia, volunteers from Esri (Thailand) Co. Ltd. went to the Phangnga province in Thailand to assist search teams and analyze the damage with the use of GPS, GIS, and remote sensing technology.

The command center was established at the Takua Pa district office in the Phangnga province under the responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). The Takua Pa district is the most damaged area in Thailand. The most critical and urgent mission after the disaster was to search for survivors and locate the dead in the area.

Since geospatial information was not available, organizing a methodical search was very difficult. Therefore, the first task was to divide the search area into five manageable zones. Each zone was subdivided into one-square-kilometer blocks for detailed searching purposes. Then maps of each zone and its related blocks were generated and printed using ArcInfo software's ArcMap application and given to the surveyors involved in the search.

Each map included aerial orthophotos from the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) or satellite images from the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) taken after the tsunami, as well as vector data with local landmarks and transportation layers from ArcData Thairoad. This allowed an easy visual reference for the surveyors working in the field.

The surveyors were also trained to use GPS to collect the locations of bodies they discovered to help in future identification. At the end of each day, MONRE held meetings with all zone leaders to review the progress of the day's search and update the status map.

The maps were not only distributed to the surveyors but also to the many organizations working in the field, such as the Rural Highway Department, TT&T, local governments, various volunteer groups, and so forth.

To analyze the damage, comparative maps of the same areas were produced using the 2003 orthophotos from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) together with the orthophotos from RTAF and satellite images from GISTDA taken right after the disaster. In addition, a 3D animation sequence of the damage areas was built using ArcGIS 3D Analyst software's ArcGlobe application. Finally, the team used video mapping technology to create a video that included GPS positions recorded with both a van and a helicopter. This project helped the investigative teams examine the damage in relation to its specific location.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment presented all the maps and analyses to the prime minister of Thailand.

In addition to the team in the Takua Pa district office command center, another volunteer team from Esri (Thailand) worked in Bangkok. This team assisted MONRE in developing an ArcIMS software-based Web application to publish the geospatial data of the damage area in the southern part of Thailand. The data published includes the 2003 color orthophotos from MOAC, orthophotos of the damage area from RTAF, and ArcData Thairoad as the basemap.

Additional layers included disaster operation centers, information centers, routes from transportation centers to disaster scenes and operation centers, and accommodations. This Web mapping application also provided the means to input the position of bodies discovered in the field, body collection points, and locations of essential facilities.

For more information, contact Esri (Thailand) Co. Ltd. (tel.: 66-2-678-0707, fax: 66-2-678-0321, Web: www.esrith.com) or visit mapserver.mnre.go.th/tsunami.