At Terramira, making a positive impact is not a tagline. It is a question we ask ourselves every day. Does the work we do (the datasets we process, the insights we generate) truly create a net positive contribution? That is not always easy to answer. But sometimes, the answer is unmistakably clear.
A Friday evening request that changed the week
On a Friday at 22:00, Jacqueline Meerkerk from GeoBusiness Nederland forwarded an urgent request: high-resolution satellite imagery over the earthquake-affected areas in Venezuela. The Dutch USAR team (Urban Search and Rescue), 64 people, 8 dogs, was preparing to deploy. Rescue International needed intelligence to help them prioritize. Fully collapsed buildings require immediate response. Post-event imagery was not yet available. Only crowd-sourced locations from people on the ground. Valuable, but incomplete.
From data to decisions
We reached out to colleagues to explore options. We investigated Copernicus Emergency Management Service, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and ultimately found Vantor’s Open Data Program. On Saturday morning, we joined Humberto Hinestrosa to prepare accessible maps and identify collapsed structures. Just as the USAR teams were moving into the affected areas.
This is what Earth Intelligence looks like under pressure: turning raw satellite data into actionable insight, in hours, for people whose decisions can mean the difference between life and death.
What this revealed about Terramira
Terramira was officially launched on Tuesday. But on Saturday, it truly revealed its character.
Not through a press release or a campaign, but through a team that picked up the phone on a Friday night, mapped through the weekend, and put their expertise to work for people they would never meet.
We deeply admire USAR, Rescue International, and the many teams operating across the globe with an uncompromising commitment to saving lives. They set the standard for how international cooperation should work, without hesitation, without borders.
Thank you
This response was only possible because of many people who contributed. In thoughts, commitments, mapping, and searching. A sincere thank you to Cornelis Valk, Max Hoving, Lazaros Spaias, Pietro Mattivi, Henk Janssen, Koen Verberne, Erik Brunekreef, Thijs Perenboom, and so many others who made this possible.
Moments like these are why Terramira exists. Impact in sight.
