Abstract
Abstract. Earth observation (EO) satellites provide near real time, comprehensive, synoptic and multi-temporal coverage of inaccessible areas at frequent intervals, which is required support for a quick response and planning of emergency operations. Owing to their merits, satellite images have become an integral part of disaster management and are being extensively used globally for mapping, monitoring and damage assessment of extreme disaster events. During major disaster, information derived from satellite observation is not only highly useful, it may at times be indispensable because of the unfavourable weather conditions, collapse of communication systems and inaccessibility to the area. Satellite images help in identifying the location of the disaster, its severity and the extent. The International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" has been the major sources of satellite data, in times of catastrophic disasters, due to availability of data from large number of sensors (with 15 organisations as signatories), which can be planned with the required temporal frequency and spectral range to cover a disaster event. During last three years, International Charter has been activated regularly, during major disasters in India. Satellite data from different sensors is obtained and was used for improving the frequency of observations, and extracting detailed information. This is used during floods in Assam (2012), floods in Uttarakhand (2013), cyclone Phailin (2013) and floods in Jammu and Kashmir (2014). The present paper discusses the role of International Charter in effective flood disaster management in India during recent past.
Highlights
Every year, millions of people worldwide are affected by natural disasters
Together with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in 2000, ESA and CNES made the foundation for Charter operations
The advantage of the Charter is to cater to various needs during a major disaster, for quick coverage after the disaster, frequent coverage of the same area from multiple sensors, large area coverage from wide swath sensors, detailed information over the severely affected areas from very high resolution sensors, for and all weather capability from microwave sensors, etc
Summary
Millions of people worldwide are affected by natural disasters. Increased frequency and intensity of events, along with concerns about possible links to climate change, has put disasters high on the list of modern-day challenges. Some major disasters across the globe during recent times are, Indain Ocean Tsunami (2004), Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (2008), Haiti earthquake (2010), Earthquake and tsunami in Japan ( 2011), Flash Floods in India (2013), Typhoon Haiyan that devastated the Philippines (2013)
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