In recent years, Mozambique has suffered severe floods and droughts that have impacted urban and rural communities throughout the country. In the March and April 2019, tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth triggered major floods in Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Comoros. The Port of Beira was hard hit, as cyclone Idai destroyed transmission lines and bridges, leaving the port without access to these lifelines for several days. In contrast the powerful El Niño event of 2016 triggered major droughts that affected most of the country.
On 22 July 2020, UN-SPIDER and the Central American Coordination Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC) joined forces to conduct a webinar on the use of novel space-based products and services to monitor forest fires that took place during the spring of 2020 in Honduras.
The Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) has become the newest member of the network of UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices, which now consists of 24 institutions around the world. The agreement between the University and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) was signed on 27 May 2020 and is valid for three years. UFSM’s main campus is located in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil. The University also operates three additional campuses in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
The head of the UN-SPIDER Bonn office and a visiting scientist from the Universidad Católica de Manizales conducted a webinar entitled “Introduction to Satellite Products and Services for the Management of Forest Fires” on 10 June. The aim of this webinar was to facilitate the use of space-based information for disaster management and emergency response, in particular to monitor and forecast forest fires.
At the end of April and the beginning of May 2020, Peten, the northern province or department of Guatemala, experienced severe forest fires that forced Guatemala’s National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) to request the activation of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters to map the geographical extent of the fires.
On 12 June, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its UN-SPIDER programme, and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) hosted a webinar on “Space-based inputs for locust early warning and preparedness” as a commitment to promote the use of space technologies in combating a crisis that is mounting on top of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is event is available for participation on an ongoing basis
English
On 12 June, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its UN-SPIDER programme, and International Water Management Institute (IWMI) will be hosting a webinar on “Space-based inputs for Locust early warning and preparedness” as a commitment to promote the use of space technologies in combating a crisis that is mounting on top of the COVID-19 crisis.
The webinar will take place at 10:30-12.30am Vienna, Austria time (UTC+2). Registrations are open until 11.59pm Vienna, Austria time (UTC+2) on 10 June.
This is event is available for participation on an ongoing basis
English
The head of the UN-SPIDER Bonn office and a visiting scientist from the Universidad Católica de Manizales will conduct a webinar entitled “Introduction to Satellite Products and Services for the Management of Forest Fires” (in Spanish). The aim of this webinar is to facilitate the use of space-based information for disaster management and emergency response, in particular to monitor and forecast forest fires.
This is event is available for participation on an ongoing basis
English
The UN-SPIDER Virtual International Expert Meeting “Space-based Solutions for Risk and Disaster Management in Africa” aims to contribute to an increased use of satellite technologies and novel applications developed by the space and the geospatial community in African countries to respond to challenges posed by natural hazards. The International Expert Meeting will:
Compile suggestions to facilitate the generation of actionable information combining various sources of space-based, in situ and big data, with a focus on early warning systems
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