Over the last thirty years, the amount of human development has exponentially increased in every part of the world. Meanwhile, extreme weather events such as tropical storms, wildfires, earthquakes, and dangerous temperatures, have become more frequent, and more severe due to climate change. This confluence results in far higher levels of short term and long term physical risk to property, human lives and livelihood than previously encountered. It may not be immediately obvious but a lot of the institutions which allow communities to prosper require robust, tractable estimates of physical risk and close monitoring of hazardous events. For example, a regional bank with a narrow lending portfolio can be driven to bankruptcy if its assets (loan repayments) collapse in value simultaneously as its collateral, or a refugee camp being built on a floodplain could severely compromise relief efforts.

Earth observation is one of the best tools we have to measure and mitigate physical risk, and subsequently, respond to natural hazards when they happen. It enables precise monitoring of environmental changes, facilitates early warning systems for impending hazards, and offers critical insights for vulnerability assessments. This talk reviews the developments in the use of computer vision and earth imagery in the public and private sector to address physical risk. Challenges that are yet to be adequately addressed will also be discussed, along with a way forward for propagating recent developments to organizations that can make a difference on the frontlines.