Supporting disaster medicine from space: identification of disaster type and extension of disaster area resulting in improved estimation of number of victims

In spite of the availability of tables of occupants in movable and in immovable objects it remains troublesome to obtain figures of the number of casualties in case of disaster. This is due to its extension, which is difficult to measure quickly, preferably within the ‘golden hour’ for the severely wounded. New developments in satellite technology could probably overcome these difficulties in the near future. A survey of these efforts is presented.