Esri and Microsoft have announced a cooperation alliance to assist public and private agencies and communities during disasters. Microsoft will display Esri's public information maps on its cloud-based Disaster Response Incident Portal, and it will also point citizens to the maps via its online outlets. Esri's ArcGIS integration within a number of Microsoft's disaster response management solutions will provide governments and leading aid organizations with a more comprehensive set of tools to address crucial challenges.
A remote-controlled Earth-observing camera system called ISERV (International Space Station SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System) will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's third H-II Transfer Vehicle this week. Once installed, the system will be directed by researchers on the ground to acquire imagery of specific areas of the globe for disaster analysis and environmental studies.
The World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction, organized by Japan and the United Nations, concluded today, calling for increased investment in disaster preparedness and recovery.
Based on the hypothesis that the GEC negatively affected livelihoods, increased poverty conditions and subsequently increased vulnerability to natural disasters; an ontology was developed to link these parameters and to model how the GEC could impact them. The ontology proposes that elements such as livelihoods may be at risk when they are vulnerable and exposed to a hazard. Other elements at risk may include infrastructure, processes, services, communities, etc.
On 9 April 2012 UN-SPIDER inaugurated the international training course “Space technology applications in Disaster Risk Reduction” organised at the Centre for Space Science Technology Education for Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP), the UN affiliated regional centre based in Dehradun, India. The Course will be conducted until 4 May 2012.
On the anniversary of the japanese earthquake and tsunami Google Maps published new satellite imagery of the affected areas. The GeoEye high-resolution imagery covers the Northeastern coast from Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture down to Hitachi City in Ibaraki Prefecture. The imagery was taken in February and March 2012. Since the disasters struck Japan on 11 March 2011, Google has continuously been updating satellite and aerial imagery of the area to show the effects of the disaster and the pace of the rebuilding process. The imagery is available on Google Maps as well as on Google Earth.
The Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission (ECHO) was established in 1992 and works in the area of emergency assistance and relief to the victims of natural disasters or armed conflict outside the European Union. ECHO concentrates its efforts on the funding of humanitarian aid.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is a research based policy support organisation and an integral part of the European Commission. The JRC is providing the scientific advice and technical know-how to support a wide range of EU policies. Our status as a Commission service, which guarantees our independence from private or national interests, is crucial for pursuing our mission. The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies.
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