GeoPDF Maps Accelerate Japan Disaster Damage Assessment

On March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami, leaving 15,000 people dead and nearly 8,000 people missing. Hitachi Solutions, the TerraGo distributor in Japan and East Asia and a joint development partner, as part of its effort to assist in the reconstruction following the earthquake and tsunami, utilized TerraGo GeoPDF pre- and post-March 11 maps and imagery to dramatically simplify residential damage assessment and the clerical work of issuing disaster damage certificates. Once the disaster damage certificates were issued, compensation could be made to property owners and they could begin reconstruction.