LocationsUNDP's RAPIDA response is designed to support decisions while more detailed assessments are still underway
Better crisis data, faster recovery
September 16, 2026
Following the June 2026 earthquakes in Venezuela, RAPIDA helped build an early picture of potential impacts and recovery priorities.
Photo: UNDP
When a crisis strikes, governments need to make critical decisions while the situation is still unfolding. Which roads need to be reopened first? Where should debris removal begin? Which hospitals, schools and essential facilities need urgent repairs? Which communities are most isolated or vulnerable? And where can limited recovery resources have the greatest impact?
These are not abstract questions. The answers determine where scarce resources go, how quickly services return and how soon people can begin rebuilding their lives. Yet in the aftermath of conflict or disaster, credible, actionable information can be difficult to obtain quickly. Damage may be widespread, access may be restricted, infrastructure may be disrupted and information may come from many different sources. But decisions about response and recovery cannot wait.
Every hour it takes to establish a credible picture can mean more time before a road reopens, a hospital is repaired or recovery resources reach the communities that need them most.
UNDP’s RAPIDA helps close this gap by combining satellite imagery, Artificial intelligence, (AI) geospatial analysis and information from the ground to provide decision-makers with an early picture of damage and need. Within 72 hours, it can help answer three basic questions: what has been damaged, who has been affected and where should recovery begin?
RAPIDA is designed to support decisions while more detailed assessments are still underway. Complementing national systems and detailed field assessments, it provides an early analytical evidence base that can be validated and strengthened as more information becomes available.
Recent crises show how this can translate into practical recovery decisions.
Following the June 2026 earthquakes in Venezuela, RAPIDA helped build an early picture of potential impacts and recovery priorities using seismic modelling, satellite imagery, AI and geospatial data. Subsequent drone surveys, engineering inspections and field information refined the picture. The estimated volume of debris ultimately reached 2.1 million tonnes. The analysis supported the identification of priority areas, informed debris removal planning and helped distinguish buildings that were safe to occupy from those requiring repairs.
In Venezuela, RAPIDA helped build an early picture of potential impacts and recovery priorities using seismic modelling, satellite imagery, AI and geospatial data.
Photo: UNDP
In Madagascar, following twin cyclones in February 2026, the key question was not only what had been affected, but which communities were likely to face the greatest consequences. By combining spatial and socioeconomic data, RAPIDA identified areas where people were already experiencing limited access to essential services and inadequate living conditions before the storms struck. This helped provide decision-makers with a stronger basis for targeting limited recovery resources where they were likely to be most needed.
By combining spatial and socioeconomic data, in Madagascar RAPIDA identified areas where people were already experiencing limited access to essential services and inadequate living conditions prior to the storms..
Photo: UNDP Madagascar
In conflict settings, rapid analysis can help establish the scale and location of damage when access to affected areas is constrained. In South Lebanon, UNDP, in coordination with the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research, conducted a rapid building-level damage assessment across areas south of the Litani River. High-resolution satellite imagery and a GeoAI workflow identified visible conflict-related damage, including roof collapse, structural deformation and debris accumulation. As of 29 April 2026, the assessment estimated US$1.38 billion in direct building damage and approximately 3.1 million cubic metres of debris. These findings provide an evidence base for prioritizing recovery and reconstruction across some of the most heavily affected areas.
Governments and partners should invest in the technology, data, national expertise and partnerships needed to generate crisis intelligence quickly.
Photo: UNDP
These examples also highlight an important principle: rapid analysis does not have to come at the expense of reliability. Early assessments will contain uncertainty, but combining satellite imagery and geospatial analysis with local knowledge, field evidence and technical expertise allows the picture to become clearer as a response develops.
The real opportunity lies in preparing these capabilities before the next crisis.
Governments and partners should invest before a crisis in the technology, data, national expertise and partnerships needed to generate crisis intelligence quickly. Having these foundations in place means that when a crisis occurs, analytical capacity can be activated immediately, drawing on established systems, data and expertise to inform decisions from the earliest stages of recovery.
Crises cannot always be prevented. But the distance between crisis and informed action can be shortened.
Every hour gained in understanding what has happened, who is affected and where recovery needs are greatest is an hour gained for restoring services, reactivating livelihoods and helping people rebuild their lives.
After conflict or disaster, that time matters.
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