Satellite Earth Observation (EO) can be used to detect, identify and measure parameters relevant to disaster risk management. This can help in different phases including disaster response and recovery and in other phases such as risk prevention and mitigation. Modern EO missions providing high resolution and wide area mapping with systematic and global revisit, new information technologies have been applied to increase access to EO data and information. Regarding the immediate disaster response phase the International Charter Space & Major Disasters is providing rapid access at no cost to imagery from 240+ satellites and is reserved to a pre-defined list of users, the Authorized Users. Regarding risk assessment and prevention different initiatives have taken place to provide geoscience users and risk management experts with advanced systems and tools able to retrieve geoinformation concerning hazard and exposure including historical and up-to-date data from dedicated EO missions. The proposed lecture will explain and illustrate how these data and tools allow to better understand hazards and disasters.