*EPF205 12/28/2004
U.S. Energy Department Database Locates Tsunami Victims
(Global population system shows world geographic distribution) (460)

By Cheryl Pellerin
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Relief agencies working to help victims of the December 26 tsunamis in the Indian Ocean are using a demographic database developed at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee.

LandScan is a global population database that combines geographic information system and remote-sensing technology to show the geographical distribution of the world population at a 1-kilometer resolution.

Using these population-distribution maps, relief workers can quickly determine the locations of potential tsunami victims who might otherwise be cut off from communication.

The LandScan database system is being used to identify spatial and population numbers in the tsunami areas and aiding recovery efforts there, said Budhendra Bhaduri, group leader of geographic information science and technology in ORNL's Computational Sciences and Engineering Division.

����Once you know how large an area is possibly being impacted, you can assess how many people are at risk from these disasters very quickly using the global dataset,���� Bhaduri said.

ORNL's Global Population Project, part of the LandScan effort, collects the best available census counts (usually at the province level) for each country and uses factors such as proximity to roads, land cover, nighttime lights and an urban density factor to calculate the population distribution for each area.

Remote sensing of land cover, nighttime lights and other factors is used to verify and validate the population model and the resulting LandScan database. Unlike conventional population database models, the ORNL LandScan model takes into account the difference between daytime and nighttime populations in areas around the world.

The LandScan population distribution database can be used in emergency response to natural disasters, terrorist incidents, or other threats; in humanitarian relief for famines and other disasters; to protect civilian populations; to estimate populations affected by global sea-level rise; and other environmental and demographic applications. LandScan data was used to plan aid and recovery efforts after the 2003 earthquake that destroyed Bam, Iran.

More than 1,300 international organizations use the LandScan system, including those in heavily impacted Sri Lanka. Many of the organizations participated in a conference in late August to analyze a response for a theoretical disaster, which has now become reality -- the aftermath of an earthquake of the magnitude that occurred December 26.

����One of the things that was very obvious was that all these organizations were solely dependent upon LandScan as the ultimate answer-provider for how many people are going to be affected in response to an earthquake event. And post-recovery of human lives is very critical,���� Bhaduri said.

He added that LandScan will be a continuous monitor of recovery efforts that will take many months to complete.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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