Role of Space Agency in Disaster Risk Management

The national space agency can assist National Disaster Management Agencies during all the phases of disaster cycle. This includes

Early warning /Contingency planningRescue/ReliefEarly RecoveryReconstruction & Rehabilitation

Space Aid in Disaster Management

Provision of weather forecasts through Met Deptts (weather satellites)

Rainfall estimation, medium and long term forecast for rains, cyclones, Tsunami, etc

Space Aid in Disaster Management (cont’d)

GOES-8 An American Weather Satellite

Spatial coverage of disaster events through (Earth Observation Satellites)

Monitoring extent of disaster, synoptic and repetitive coverage of disaster stricken areas, estimation of damages and loss assessment and assistance in spatial planning for reconstruction and rehabilitation and hazard risks zonation

Space Aid in Disaster Management (cont’d)

Space Aid in Disaster Management (cont’d)

Provide/facilitate emergency communication services during disaster through (communication satellites)

• Location based services /crowd source mapping through (Constellation of Navigational satellites-GNSS)

Space Aid in Disaster Management (cont’d)

• Develop mechanisms to allow humanitarian agencies to get access to the maps/images for emergency response (Geo-portals etc)

Space Aid in Disaster Management (cont’d)

Data Acquisition

Data Processing

Data Distribution

Search & RescueData Reception

Karachi

Paki

stan

Ground Receiving Station

Rescue Coordinate Centers

Satellite Aided Search and Rescue Program (COSPAS-SARSAT) Satellite Aided Search and Rescue Program (COSPAS-SARSAT)

Distress signal from space

Data Product

• Constellation of Russian, US, French and Canadian Geo-stationary & LEO Satellites

• Receives Distress Signals from Aircrafts, Vessels, Personnel

Real time data for research studies on climate change variables using (space based scientific missions)

Megha-Tropiques is a satellite mission to study the water cycle in the tropical atmosphere in the context of climate change]. A collaborative effort between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Megha-Tropiques was successfully deployed into orbit by a PSLV rocket in October 2011.

Space Aid in Disaster Management (cont’d)

An eye in the sky

Disaster Management Frame work

At all tiers of a National Disaster Management Framework, the availability of reliable data on spatial reference is of paramount importance for right decision making

Disaster Prevention• There is international agreement that investment in prevention and mitigation

before an emergency will reduce the cost of recovering afterwards.

• Australia has estimated that every dollar spent on disaster mitigation saves at least three dollars in economic and social recovery.

• The International Federation of the Red Cross has estimated that if  US $40 billion had been invested in mitigation measures in the 1990s worldwide economic losses of US $280 billion resulting  from   disasters would have been avoided.

• The World Bank has estimated that by spending one percent of a structure’s value on vulnerability reduction measures can reduce probable maximum loss from hurricanes on average, by a third.

(http://www.barrie.ca)

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Management• During the last decades remote sensing (RS) has become an operational tool

in the disaster preparedness and warning phases for cyclones, droughts and floods, due to their speedy reach and coverage.

• RS satellites have different types of sensors on-board, such as, panchromatic, multispectral, infrared and thermal. All these sensors have applications in disaster mitigation, though depending on the electromagnetic characteristics of the objects on Earth and the nature of disaster itself.

• For example, thermal sensors capture fire hazards, infrared sensors are more suitable for floods and microwave sensors can record soil moisture. Nearly all kinds of disasters, such as, earthquake, volcano, tsunami, forest fire, hurricane and floods can be remotely sensed using RS satellites.

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Management (cont’d)

• Floods & Land slidingAsses coastal resources including mangrove forests, salt pansEnvironmental impact assessment in the fragile ecosystemsMonitor rapid processes of erosion, sedimentationMap coastal configuration, bathymetry, navigation channels and

landformsCrop area estimationCrop yield and production forecasting and estimationMonitor areal extent of snow coverEstimation of snowmelt & rainfall runoffStudy indicators related to glacial hazardsDevelopment of regional glacier database

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Prevention

RS data can be effectively utilized to undertake the following measures for disaster prevention:

• Earthquake Identification of regional structural trends ,folds, major faults, lineaments and

fracture zonesDistinguish, classify and analyze landforms of variegated origin at the crust of

earthStudy and monitor the modification of landformsPrepare maps of land forms and terrain for detailed analysis

• Forest FireClassify forest resources extending to inaccessible areas

• DroughtMonitor desert encroachment, overgrazing and depletion in biomass

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Prevention (cont’d)

• Infrastructure Planning

Locate appropriate sites for dams, bridges and airfieldsSelect suitable land corridors for railway, highway and pipeline routesIdentify sites for locating coastal infrastructure, beach development and

harborsAnalyze dynamic nature of stream erosion, deposition and course change to

design flood protection bundsInfrastructure mapping through satellite technology

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Prevention (cont’d)

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Preparedness

• Disaster Preparedness

Emergencies can happen anywhere at any time with little or no warning. The best protection in any emergency is to be prepared for the unexpected and know what to do. This will help in controlling the situation better and allow to recover more quickly. In disaster preparedness phase, GIS is a tool for the planning of evacuation routes, for the design of centers for emergency operations, and for merging of satellite data with other relevant data in the design of disaster warning systems.

• High resolution satellite data serve to show potential changes that might occur between the acquisition dates before and after disasters. High-resolution satellite imagery offers possibilities for the earthquake damage assessment and, thus, multidisciplinary approach combining remote sensing techniques, spatial analysis and terrain knowledge

• Current, accurate information such as of hospitals and health centers, schools, governmental buildings, police and fire stations, industrial buildings, and gas stations, is important for emergency planning and response measurements. Actual satellite data contribute to this task.

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Preparedness (cont’d)

Roads Susceptible to Flooding Planning of Evacuation RoutesLocation study: accessibility for ambulance, fire brigade, police etc

• Disaster Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

RS technology plays vital role in both the immediate relief and long-term development phases of disaster relief/rehab and Reconstruction.

Satellite imagery assists in estimating the damaged infrastructure and analyzing the severity of vital services required to any community, undertaking detailed damage need assessments and urban development planning.

Role of Remote Sensing & GIS in Disaster Relief

Space Application

in

Different sectors

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• Monitor, forecast and map various Monitor, forecast and map various

hazardshazards

• Prepare maps and management Prepare maps and management

plans against each type of plans against each type of

hazardshazards

• Damage assessment in the Damage assessment in the

affected areaaffected area

• Mapping flood prone areasMapping flood prone areas

Space Applications

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• Crop area estimationCrop area estimation

• Crop yield and production Crop yield and production

forecastforecast

• Advance technologies for food Advance technologies for food

securitysecurity

• Better planning for cropping Better planning for cropping

different cropsdifferent crops

Space Applications

25

• Snow cover and runoffSnow cover and runoff

• Precipitation and moisture Precipitation and moisture

estimationestimation

• Surface energy balance & Surface energy balance &

evapotranspirationevapotranspiration

Space Applications

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• Assess coastal resourcesAssess coastal resources

• Environment impact assessmentEnvironment impact assessment

• Erosion/sedimentation monitoringErosion/sedimentation monitoring

• Mapping of coastal configuration, Mapping of coastal configuration,

navigation channels and navigation channels and

landforms landforms

Space Application

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• Identification of regional Identification of regional

structural trends , folds, fault linesstructural trends , folds, fault lines

• Geological mapping for potential Geological mapping for potential

hydrocarbon zoneshydrocarbon zones

• Selection of potential mineral Selection of potential mineral

sitessites

Space Application

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• Preparation of maps of soil, Preparation of maps of soil,

landuse, landcover for urban landuse, landcover for urban

planningplanning

• Locating appropriate sites for Locating appropriate sites for

dams, bridges and airfieldsdams, bridges and airfields

• Selection of suitable land Selection of suitable land

corridors for railways, highways corridors for railways, highways

and pipelinesand pipelines

Space Application

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• Infrastructure mapping through Infrastructure mapping through

satellite technologysatellite technology

• Mobile irrigation survey systemMobile irrigation survey system

• Vehicle tracking and fleet Vehicle tracking and fleet

managementmanagement

Space Application

30

• Estimation of variations in glaciers Estimation of variations in glaciers

size through historical satellite size through historical satellite

datadata

• Studying of indicators related to Studying of indicators related to

glacial hazardsglacial hazards

• Development of regional glacier Development of regional glacier

databasedatabase

Space Application

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• Multi tier applicationsMulti tier applications

• Integration of external gadgets Integration of external gadgets

and data connectivity with and data connectivity with

multiple serversmultiple servers

• RS & GIS customized front end RS & GIS customized front end

with third party integration with third party integration

featurefeature

Space Application

Most suitableMost suitable LocationLocation

Space Application

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Surface GeologicalInformation

Terrain Information

Digital mapping of large and inaccessible areas thus saving time and cost

Space Application

Pakistan: Rains/Floods

August 2013(A case example)

Rapid Damage Assessment Earthquake 2005

Role of Space Technologies in Disaster Risk Reduction is useful and is being increasingly recognized by

DRM Community