USE OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Partho Protim Mondal1

1

Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources and Research, CAS

Abstract Summary:
Disasters, whether natural hazards or man-made, have become an issue of growing concern throughout the world. The
frequency, as well as magnitude, of disasters threatening large population living in diverse environments is
increasing in recent years across the world. These disasters also have far-reaching implications on sustainable
development through social, economic and environmental impacts. An estimate by UNISDR (United Nations
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) shows that worldwide from 2002-2012 disasters induced an average loss of
1.7 trillion US dollar worth of property, 1.2 million life was lost and about 3 billon people were affected. Therefore, it is
highly imperative to develop effective tools for disaster management. Remote sensing systems have been playing a
great role in disaster management in such areas as flooding, cyclones, drought, landslide, earthquake and tsunami.
Satellite technologies have been effectively used in disaster management especially during the preparedness or early
warning and emergency response or monitoring stages. The present work provides an insight into the suitability of different
satellites, sensors and space technology capabilities for managing different natural disasters.
Keywords: natural hazard, disaster management, space technology, environmental impacts, sustainable development

1. INTRODUCTION
In many instances, disasters act as catalysts in the adoption of new and emerging technologies. Spawned by the
need to rapidly collect vital information for disaster management, technology innovations have often helped
emergency responders to assess the impact of large disasters more efficiently and rapidly, and to track and
monitor progress in critical response and recovery operations. One technology, which has had an enormous
impact on disaster management, has been remote sensing. An increasing number of studies have elaborated on
the importance and applications of remote sensing in disaster management (Bin aud Jiping, 2006; Joyce et al.,
2009). A major reason for the adoption of remote sensing is that it is one of the fastest means of acquiring
data for pre-disaster and post disaster study. It is used to provide data for damage assessment in timely
manner and to assist evaluation and rehabilitation plans. During pre-disaster phase, remote sensing can be
applied in identifying and developing adequate system and resources before the occurrence of a disaster. The
adequate system and resources will ensure that response to disaster is more coordinated and efficient and
recovery time is minimal. Disaster prevention is a long-term phenomenon, which can best be studied with the
help of satellite monitoring of various relevant factors, such as, changing land use. Most disasters are of
dynamic and rapid-onset type although some, such as drought and famine are slow to develop. The obvious
difference between warnings and forecasts is that the latter is less specific in time and space. Disaster relief
occurs after (and sometimes during) the emergency. An important aspect in terms of satellite monitoring
involves assessment of the damage incurred during the disaster. Satellite technology can also help in identifying
escape routes and locations for storage of temporary housing. Remotely sensed data such as MODIS, ASTER,
Landsat and Radarsat are being succesfully used to produce map on hazard and disaster risk. Digital terrain data
derived from GTOP030, SRTM DEM or LIDAR are being used for hydrological and flood modeling. For
example, Li et.al. (2009) used GTOP030 data to analyse the global impacts of potential inundation due predicted
sealevel rise. There are different components in the disaster management cycle such as mitigation, preparedness,
recovery and response. Mitigation and preparedness are the pre-disaster phase whereas recovery and response
are post-disaster phase. Remote sensing technology can be effectively used in all stages of the disaster
management cycle.
Mitigation: Mitigation of risk, and therefore reduction in the likelihood of a disaster occurring, is an essential
measurement in disaster management cycle. Remote sensing helps in mitigation activities by assisting in
developing hazard maps, which indicates the regions prone to high risk; essential to identify the infrastructures
and buildings at the encountered region. Remotely sensed data is very useful in collecting the asset data with
high precision and magnification. Images from LiDAR are very much useful in identification of flood plains that
helps to determine the changes in land use and identify areas for developing protective measures.
Preparedness: The identification and potential development of basic systems, skills and resources before the
advent of disaster events is known as preparedness or readiness. For example, severe weather warnings data
given by sensors such as GOES, NOAA, Metosat helps in providing valuable advanced warning of severe
events to the public and emergency planners via meteorologists. SMAP sensor provides data pertaining to soil
moisture content which in-turn helps to determine drought and agricultural productivity decline, ability of soils
to retain water to indicate flood and landslide potential.

Response: Protection of life and properties during the time of disasters is the goal of the response phase. This
phase includes activities such as evacuation, evaluating the building safety, search and rescue; and remote
sensing and geographical information system can be used very effectively here. Radasat, ASTER, Quickbird,
Ikonos are example of some sensors which helps in determining magnitude, location and duration of impacts in
widespread storm or earthquake induced landslides. Data provided by GOES, TOMS, MODIS are used by
volcanic ash advisories to warn airlines of hazardous flight paths. Terra SAR-X, Cosmo Sky- Med sensors helps
in locating the ships in the ocean during storm.
Recovery: The recovery phase should deal with the assessment of damage, rehabilitation, and restoration of
pre-disaster environment. Remotely sensed data acquired after the disasters are incorporated with the GIS
technology and results in the creation of new thematic maps. Information pertaining to the rate of recovery such
as re-growth of vegetation, reconstruction, debris removal and identification of residual risk areas can be
obtained with the aid of Aerial photography, Quickbird, Worldview, Ikonos.
The following table 1 summarizes the role of remote sensing at various stages for different natural disasters.

Table 1 Role of remote sensing in Disaster Management

Disaster

Cyclone

Response

Mitigation

Recovery

Early warning signs, long

range climate modeling

Vulnerability Analysis
and Risk Modeling

Damage assessment;
spatial planning

Weather forecasting;
vegetation monitoring; crop
water requirement mapping;
early warning

Risk modeling;
vulnerability analysis;
land and water
management planning

Informing drought
mitigation.

Earthquake Identifying escape routes,

planning routes for search
and rescue

Measuring strain
accumulation

Hazard mapping and

assessment of building
stock

Damage assessment;
identifying sites for
rehabilitation

Fire

Coordinating fire fighting

efforts

Fire detection; predicting

spread/direction of fire;
early warning

Identifying and mapping Damage assessment

fire-prone areas,
monitoring fuel load, risk
modelling

Flood

Flood mapping; evacuation Flood

detection;
early Identifying and mapping Damage assessment;
planning;
damage warning; rainfall mapping. flood-prone
areas Spatial planning
assessment
delineating flood-plains,
land-use mapping

landslide

Mapping the affected area

Volcano

Mapping lava flows

Drought

Impact Assessment,
identifying routes to escape,
Crisis Mapping, Regular
monitoring of cyclones and
Storm surge predictions
Assessing the extent of
damage, monitoring
vegetation

Preparedness

Monitoring the amount of Risk modelling; hazard Damage assessment,

rainfall and stability of mapping; digital elevation spatial planning, and
slopes
models
suggesting
management
practices.
Monitoring emissions and Hazard mapping, risk Damage assessment,
thermal alerts
modeling and digital spatial planning.
elevation model.

The pressure on the earth's resources caused by increased population has resulted in increased vulnerability of
human and their infrastructure to the natural hazards. The result is a dynamic equilibrium between these forces
in which scientific and technological development plays a major role. Societal factors, such as, economics,
politics, communication and education are vital in order to implement the technological advances. However,
despite the capabilities of remote sensing technologies in disaster management, there are still some
limitations in its deployment due to the divide between developed and developing counties, data
accessibility (especially high resolution imagery) and technological limitations.

2. NATURAL HAZARD AND DISASTER MITIGATION IN INDIA

India experiences a large number of disasters every year and hence is one of the most vulnerable countries to be
affected by various disasters. About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities; over 40
million hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones; close to 5,700 km long
coastline out of the 7,516 km, is prone to cyclones (National Flood Control Commission Report, 1980) and 68%
of the area is susceptible to drought. Vulnerability of Indian sub-continent to variety of severe natural disasters
is evident from the major disaster events experienced by the country in the past i.e. Jhelum floods and Cyclone
Hudhud (2014), Uttarakhand flash floods and Cyclone Phailin (2013), J&K, Leh Flash floods (2010), Indian
Tsunami (2004), Bhuj Earthquake (2001), Latur Earthquake (1993), Malpa Landslide (1994), Orissa Super
Cyclone (1999) to name some. Hence, considering such a unique agro-climatic, agro-ecological and the reoccurrence of disasters from time to time, the Indian Space Research Organisation/ Department of Space
(ISRO/DOS) has setup a system with a combination of aerospace based observations, satellite communication
network and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) to address quick response and mitigation of various
disasters. Response to most of these disasters is done in the near realtime, including the provision to provide
early warnings to help in coping up with disasters at local level.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA

ISRO/ DOS has unique constellation of satellites in space to cater to the needs of the country in terms of
Communication (SatCom), Satellite Navigation (SatNav), Meteorology (SatMet) and remote sensing (RS). The
meteorological satellites, INSAT series and Kalpana, have capability to image on a continuous basis, which is
essential for tracking the tropical cyclones and deriving wind vectors over large oceanic areas. The constellation
of IRS satellites provides vital information on disaster events, and help in risk management related activities.
The aerial survey systems, such as the Aerial Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) and Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) help in filling the observational gaps under special requirements of accurate terrain height or
observations through cloud-cover respectively. The INSAT Data Relay Transponder (DRT) has capability to
collect data from platforms located in remote, inaccessible areas, and over the oceans. The space enabled ground
systems like Automated Weather Station (AWS), Cyclone Warning and Dissemination System (CWDS); and
the Doppler Weather Radars (DWR) are further augmentations that provide important inputs in terms of weather
observation networks. ISRO has set up the DMS Decision Support Centre (DSC) at National Remote Sensing
Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad, as the single window service provider

4. CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Recent developments in the application of remote sensing in disaster management such as the proliferation
of data through unprecedented sources (Google Earth, crowd-sourcing, Global Land Cover) and
improvement in data resolutions and integration of technologies have greatly impacted the way disasters was
managed in the past. Despite the capabilities of remote sensing technologies in natural and human disaster
management, there are still some limitations in its deployment due to the divide between developed and
developing countries, data accessibility (especially high resolution
imagery)
and technological
limitations. There is a need for more collaborative and interdisciplinary frameworks to fully utilize the
capabilities of remote sensing in hazard and disaster management.
The following recommendations may be followed with regard to future directions for remote sensing
applications in natural disasters:
1. Integrate damage assessment methodologies using remote sensing into internet-based visualization platforms,
such as Google Earth or Virtual Earth. By offering the results of these assessments via the internet, a much
broader audience for these applications is possible.
2. Develop a set of consensus-based damage assessment criteria based on only remotely sensed data. This is a
necessary step in standardizing the results of multi-investigator or multi-event assessments.
3. Explore the feasibility of training structural and civil engineers in utilizing standard damage assessment
protocols and remote sensing images to expand the resource base to perform rapid damage analyses for any
large event around the world, e.g., the 2008 Sichuan, China earthquake.
4. Explore the use of remotely sensed data to augment or validate detailed building attribute information for
large urban areas.

5. Build on current international agreements or protocols (e.g., International Charter) to strengthen the capability
of non-government organizations to provide rapid, global assessments for any natural disaster around the world.

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