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There is an increasing interest in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of remote sensing imagery and geographic information system products as they relate to estimating populations at risk before, during, and after natural hazards. This research examines the spatial and temporal effectiveness of satellites and extent of damage products that were created for Banda Aceh, Indonesia after the 26 December 2004 tsunami. SPOT, FORMOSAT, MODIS and Landsat ETM+ imagery provides high temporal resolution data within three days of the tsunami. However, high-resolution commercial satellites (Quickbird, IKONOS) provide the most accurate data that can be used to assess infrastructure damage in cities like Banda Aceh before and after natural disasters. Of the six extent of damage products (USAID, USGS, Dartmouth Flood Observatory, DLR, SERTIT, DPRC) created after the tsunami, DLR provided the most …