Subsidence

According to the latest issue of an annual disaster statistics report, floods were the deadliest type of disasters in 2019, followed by extreme temperature, while storms affected the highest number of people. Published by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), “Natural disasters 2019 - Now is the time to not give up” draws on data recorded in the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), which saw the addition of 396 disasters that affected a total of 95 million and caused $103 billion in economic losses around the world. 

Accounting for 40 per cent of disaster events, Asia suffered the highest impact with 45 per cent of deaths and 74 per cent of total affected. India, which saw cyclone Fani cause destruction in 2019, was the country most…

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The Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) Map is a website for map-based access to spatial information. It’s is still being developed by Data61 CSIRO in collaboration with Geoscience Australia. DE Africa is leveraging international Earth Observation (EO) data and science to produce new information and services that benefit African countries. Through translating data into ready-to-use insights, more informed decisions about soil and coastal erosion, agriculture, deforestation, desertification, water quality and changes to human settlements can be made. The data is organized in data-cubes and will be fully available by 2020.

The lowering or sinking of the ground’s surface, referred to as land subsidence, can cause serious damage to infrastructure and private property, and in turn, have an adverse impact on communities, individuals, and the economy. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Sentinel-1 satellite, part of the Copernicus programme, is being used to monitor cases of land subsidence and contribute to risk assessment and urban development efforts.

From Sentinel-1 radar data collected over time, ground deformation maps can be created, which provide important insights to local authorities charged with implementing hazard mitigation and management strategies. For example, such maps recently helped authorities in…

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ESA's Earth Observation Thematic Exploitation Platform (TEP) is a browser for satellite imagery and specific products on an environmental topic. The TEP platforms are divided into 7 categories: Coastal; Forstry; Geohazards; Hydrology; Polar; Urban; and Food Security. Each platform is a collaborative, virtual work environment providing access to EO data and the tools, processors and Information and Communication Technology resources required to work with them. TEP aims to bridge the gap between the users and the data and tools.

The UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office (RSO) in Romania is hosted by the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA).  The cooperation agreement between ROSA and UNOOSA was signed on occasion of the 52nd COPUOS, 4 June 2009.

Established in 1991, by the Government Decision no. 923/ 20 Nov 1995, ROSA is an independent public institution.

The mission of the Agency:

• to coordinate the national space research and applications programs
• to promote space development
• to be the Government representative in the international space cooperation
• to develop specific project oriented research

ROSA is authorized to establish research and development centres oriented on specific objectives of the Romanian Space Programme.

The Asia Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) and the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) signed the cooperation agreement on establishment of the ADRC UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office (RSO) on the occasion of the 52nd session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) on 4th June 2009.