Mitigate, Plan, Detect and Respond: AI and Aerial Imagery Across the Disaster Lifecycle
Tracks
Room 1 - Southport 2 & 3
Room 2 - Southport 1
Room 3 - Gold Coast Ballroom
Room 4 - Surfers Paradise Ballroom
Room 5 - Coolangatta Rooms
| Tuesday, July 28, 2026 |
| 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM |
| Plenary - Gold Coast & Surfers Paradise Ballroom |
Overview
M’Shenda Turner, Senior Director – ANZ Geospatial Content, Nearmap
Details
Three Key Learnings
1. Understand how pre-event imagery strengthens emergency preparedness by providing a current, high-resolution baseline for planning, risk mitigation, and decision-making.
2. Discover how AI-powered damage assessment accelerates situational awareness by rapidly identifying impacted assets and quantifying damage at scale.
3. Learn how property intelligence supports response and recovery efforts through faster resource allocation, public assistance, recovery funding, and long-term recovery monitoring.
Speaker
James Stephens
Enterprise Account Executive
Nearmap
Mitigate, Plan, detect and respond: AI and aerial imagery across the disaster lifecycle
Abstract
In this keynote, M'Shenda Turner shares a unique dual perspective as a fireground leader with the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and as a leader of Nearmap’s survey operations. Together, these experiences highlight how strong emergency planning equips government agencies to mitigate risk, prepare effectively, respond faster, and recover stronger.
The session explores the role of pre-event imagery through Nearmap’s Standard Capture Program. Designed around population centres, growth corridors, the built environment and the urban–bush interface, the program establishes a continually refreshed, high-resolution baseline at 5.5–7.5cm ground sample distance (GSD) - a critical reference point for all subsequent decision-making.
From there, she will examine how artificial intelligence transforms imagery into actionable intelligence. Nearmap AI surfaces more than 130 detections, including roof condition, building materials, vegetation, and potential hazards. Through real-world examples, we demonstrate how Damage Detection and Classification AI rapidly identifies impacted assets and assesses the severity of damage.
We then move into ImpactResponse, showcasing rapid post-event imagery and AI-powered assessments at scale. Drawing on insights from 96 events and more than 92,300 square kilometres of captured data, we explore case studies such as the Queensland hailstorms and the Los Angeles wildfires, where 46,577 buildings were analysed and classified in under three hours.
The keynote concludes with a focus on operations and recovery, highlighting how geospatial intelligence supports public assistance, accelerates recovery funding, and enables ongoing tracking of community recovery over time.
The session explores the role of pre-event imagery through Nearmap’s Standard Capture Program. Designed around population centres, growth corridors, the built environment and the urban–bush interface, the program establishes a continually refreshed, high-resolution baseline at 5.5–7.5cm ground sample distance (GSD) - a critical reference point for all subsequent decision-making.
From there, she will examine how artificial intelligence transforms imagery into actionable intelligence. Nearmap AI surfaces more than 130 detections, including roof condition, building materials, vegetation, and potential hazards. Through real-world examples, we demonstrate how Damage Detection and Classification AI rapidly identifies impacted assets and assesses the severity of damage.
We then move into ImpactResponse, showcasing rapid post-event imagery and AI-powered assessments at scale. Drawing on insights from 96 events and more than 92,300 square kilometres of captured data, we explore case studies such as the Queensland hailstorms and the Los Angeles wildfires, where 46,577 buildings were analysed and classified in under three hours.
The keynote concludes with a focus on operations and recovery, highlighting how geospatial intelligence supports public assistance, accelerates recovery funding, and enables ongoing tracking of community recovery over time.
Biography
M'Shenda Turner is a prominent Australian leader in geospatial intelligence and disaster response, serving as the Senior Director of Geospatial Content and REM Operations for Nearmap in Australia and New Zealand. With a strong background in remote sensing and environmental science, she has been instrumental in expanding Nearmap’s aerial imaging capabilities and leveraging high-resolution data for critical applications across sectors such as emergency management, urban planning, and renewable energy. She has been an active volunteer firefighter with the NSW RFS for more than 18 years, earning both a National Emergency Medal, and the NSW Premier’s Bushfire Emergency Citation.
