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Sentinel Hub launches second custom script contest
Mar Nov 19 2019
Sentinel Hub’s Earth Observation (EO) browser is hosting its second round of contests for custom scripts to better visualize and analyze the Earth’s surface. EO Browser, developed by Sinergise in close cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), brings together petabytes of data from many satellite platforms - from ESA’s Copernicus programme to NASA’s Landsat missions.
The competition is...
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New NASA sensor to support drought and wildfire prediction
Jeu Nov 14 2019
Major disasters such as droughts and wildfires are driven by the dryness of vegetation. To enhance the monitoring of plant water stress, NASA launched and installed a new sensor on the International Space Station. ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) allows identifying loss of water in leaves- even before they show visible signs of trouble.
The image to...
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New research investigates early warning signals of Anak Krakatau volcano collapse
Mer Nov 13 2019
On 22 December 2018 a large chunk of the Anak Krakatau volcanic island collapsed into the ocean, causing a tsunami that swept across Indonesia’s Sunda Strait. Because tsunami early warning systems are exclusively equipped to detect tsunamis that are generated by earthquakes, this volcanic collapse-caused tsunami took place without a warning. In the coastal regions of Java and Sumatra, where...
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Participants discuss space technologies for disaster management in Africa at UN-SPIDER Bonn International Conference
Ven Nov 8 2019
Over 100 participants from more than 20 countries discussed the use of space technologies in meeting the challenges posed by floods, droughts and other disasters across Africa at an international conference that took place from 6 to 8 November in Bonn, Germany. The UN-SPIDER Bonn International Conference "Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management in Africa: Challenges, Applications,...
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Study report outlines next generation of data-based disaster management
Dim Oct 20 2019
The Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) Working Group on Data and the International Science Council’s Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) have released a report on the next generation of disaster management systems. As disasters and the number affected by them increase due to climate change, disaster management needs to evolve as well. “Next Generation Disaster Data...
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UN-SPIDER supports response to floods in Far North of Cameroon
Sam Oct 19 2019
The 2019 rainy season in the Far North region of Cameroon has caused the Logone river to overflow and flood the Zina (Logone-et-Chari department), Maga and Kai-Kai districts (Mayo Dany) in the country's Far North region. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that at least 60 out of 110 villages in the Zina district - 19,359 people - are affected, while 15...
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GEM Africa Risk Model provides insights to seismic hazard across the continent
Lun Oct 14 2019
Release earlier this year at the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction 2019, the Africa Earthquake Model paints a complete picture of earthquake risk to the continent in terms of damage to buildings and direct human and economic losses. The model lays out the African portion of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation global maps released in December 2018.
The model is a comprehensive...
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AI-assisted building dataset created for Uganda and Tanzania
Mer Oct 2 2019
On 19 September, Bing announced that the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda are the first African countries to have an open buildings dataset. As a result of a joint venture between Bing Maps, Microsoft Philanthropies and Humanitarian OpenStreetMaps (HOTOSM), 18 million building footprints have been established, of which 7 million in Uganda and 11 million in the United Republic of Tanzania....
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ICIMOD maps floods during South Asian monsoon
Mer Sép 25 2019
In July 2019, Bangladesh, India and Nepal experienced floods and landslides during the South Asian monsoon season. On the night of the 17 July, the Jamuna river in Bangladesh broke through the embankment, inundating over 40 villages and displacing more than 200,000 people. Experts of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office,...
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IFRC says humanitarian need could double without urgent action on climate change
Mar Sép 24 2019
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - the world's largest humanitarian organization - released a report estimating the growth of humanitarian need if current human activities continue. Published this month, "The Cost of Doing Nothing" paints a bleak picture of global need for humanitarian assistance doubling to 200 million. The price tag, the report...
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New ESA satellite uses AI to make data delivery more efficient
Lun Sép 23 2019
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced the launch of a new satellite that will use artificial intelligence to filter images unsuitable for future use. The Phi Satellite (ɸ-Sat-1), presented at the ESA Phi-week from 9 to 12 September, will make data delivery more efficient by not sending back to Earth acquisitions with high cloud cover. Currently, the process of filtering images for cloud...
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UN-SPIDER Beijing conference explores role of space technologies in disaster risk reduction strategies, marks ten-year anniversary
Ven Sép 13 2019
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 recognizes the importance of a multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction and makes explicit reference to promoting real-time access to reliable data making use of space and in situ information under Priority for Action 1, “Understanding disaster risk”. Such access is key to developing an understanding of disaster risk in all its...
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UN-SPIDER co-organizes International Charter training in Beijing
Jeu Sép 12 2019
On 10 September 2019, 60 participants of the ninth annual UN-SPIDER Beijing conference and officials from Chinese government organizations attended the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” project manager training.
The training was co-organized by the UN-SPIDER Beijing office and the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China (NDRCC) and hosted at the facilities of NDRCC in Beijing...
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Beijing international training programme focuses on use of space-based technologies for disaster risk assessments
Jeu Sép 12 2019
In the run up to this year's UN-SPIDER Beijing conference on 11 and 12 September, 30 participants from around Asia attended the international training programme on space-based technologies for disaster risk assessment from 5 to 9 September, which was hosted at the Regional Centre for Space Science Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (RCSSTEAP) based at Beihang University, Beijing. The...
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UN-SPIDER strengthens use of space data for drought early warning in Ethiopia
Mer Août 28 2019
Timely and reliable information about precipitation, soil moisture and vegetation health provide essential insights for early detection of drought. Space-based information, which helps monitor these parameters, is a central data source for effective drought early warning systems.
Upon the request of the Government of Ethiopia, UN-SPIDER is carrying out a Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) to Addis...
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Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 highlights role of big data in meeting new climate reality
Lun Août 26 2019
A new report warns that the Asia-Pacific region is not sufficiently prepared for a new climate reality marked by an intensification and changing geography of disaster risks that are becoming harder to predict. The “Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019”, a biennial publication by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), finds that slow-onset disasters –...
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Dengue fever forecasting system makes use of Earth observation data
Mar Août 20 2019
Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes. “Today the disease is endemic in 141 countries, affecting 390 million people and with a global annual cost estimated at almost US$9 billion. Since 2000, there has been an increase of over 100% in the number of cases of dengue fever in Vietnam, and there is currently no system for forecasting future dengue outbreaks.” according to a...
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German research team uses satellites and AI technology to monitor volcanoes
Mar Août 6 2019
“More than half of the world’s active volcanoes are not monitored instrumentally,” according to GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. Yet eruptions occur quite frequently, with up to 85 of the 1500 active volcanoes erupting each year, and can cause significant damage. For example, the 2018 volcanic eruptions at Fuego (Guatemala) and Anak Krakatau (Indonesia) resulted in 430 dead and missing persons. This...
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European Space Agency and Asian Development Bank help Indonesia with rebuilding efforts after 2018 earthquake
Mar Août 6 2019
In September 2018, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The impact, combined with the tsunami, landslides, and soil liquefaction that followed, “... claimed well over 2000 lives, destroyed homes, buildings, infrastructure and farmland in several districts,” according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
Ten months later, response efforts are now moving into the...
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DLR supports efforts to fight forest fires in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Jeu Juil 25 2019
Satellite technology became an integral part of efforts to detect and contain forest fires in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, Germany at the end of June and early July. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) used satellite information, along with images captured by the Modular Aerial Camera System (MACS), to create maps, which provided emergency services with up-to-date information about areas affected...
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Space-based data in emergency response at centre of UN-SPIDER Institutional Strengthening Mission to Cameroon
Mar Juil 23 2019
Upon the request of the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT), Government of Cameroon, UN-SPIDER carried out a week-long Institutional Strengthening Mission (ISM) to Yaoundé from 15 to 19 July. The mission aimed to strengthen the capacities of the Department of Civil Protection (DPC) of Cameroon in using space-based information in all phases of the disaster management cycle. It was the...
Sentinel Hub’s Earth Observation (EO) browser is hosting its second round of contests for custom scripts to better visualize and analyze the Earth’s surface. EO Browser, developed by Sinergise in close cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), brings together petabytes of data from many satellite platforms - from ESA’s Copernicus programme to NASA’s Landsat missions. The competition is...
Major disasters such as droughts and wildfires are driven by the dryness of vegetation. To enhance the monitoring of plant water stress, NASA launched and installed a new sensor on the International Space Station. ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) allows identifying loss of water in leaves- even before they show visible signs of trouble. The image to...
On 22 December 2018 a large chunk of the Anak Krakatau volcanic island collapsed into the ocean, causing a tsunami that swept across Indonesia’s Sunda Strait. Because tsunami early warning systems are exclusively equipped to detect tsunamis that are generated by earthquakes, this volcanic collapse-caused tsunami took place without a warning. In the coastal regions of Java and Sumatra, where...
Over 100 participants from more than 20 countries discussed the use of space technologies in meeting the challenges posed by floods, droughts and other disasters across Africa at an international conference that took place from 6 to 8 November in Bonn, Germany. The UN-SPIDER Bonn International Conference "Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management in Africa: Challenges, Applications,...
The Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) Working Group on Data and the International Science Council’s Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) have released a report on the next generation of disaster management systems. As disasters and the number affected by them increase due to climate change, disaster management needs to evolve as well. “Next Generation Disaster Data...
The 2019 rainy season in the Far North region of Cameroon has caused the Logone river to overflow and flood the Zina (Logone-et-Chari department), Maga and Kai-Kai districts (Mayo Dany) in the country's Far North region. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that at least 60 out of 110 villages in the Zina district - 19,359 people - are affected, while 15...
Release earlier this year at the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction 2019, the Africa Earthquake Model paints a complete picture of earthquake risk to the continent in terms of damage to buildings and direct human and economic losses. The model lays out the African portion of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation global maps released in December 2018. The model is a comprehensive...
On 19 September, Bing announced that the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda are the first African countries to have an open buildings dataset. As a result of a joint venture between Bing Maps, Microsoft Philanthropies and Humanitarian OpenStreetMaps (HOTOSM), 18 million building footprints have been established, of which 7 million in Uganda and 11 million in the United Republic of Tanzania....
In July 2019, Bangladesh, India and Nepal experienced floods and landslides during the South Asian monsoon season. On the night of the 17 July, the Jamuna river in Bangladesh broke through the embankment, inundating over 40 villages and displacing more than 200,000 people. Experts of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office,...
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - the world's largest humanitarian organization - released a report estimating the growth of humanitarian need if current human activities continue. Published this month, "The Cost of Doing Nothing" paints a bleak picture of global need for humanitarian assistance doubling to 200 million. The price tag, the report...
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced the launch of a new satellite that will use artificial intelligence to filter images unsuitable for future use. The Phi Satellite (ɸ-Sat-1), presented at the ESA Phi-week from 9 to 12 September, will make data delivery more efficient by not sending back to Earth acquisitions with high cloud cover. Currently, the process of filtering images for cloud...
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 recognizes the importance of a multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction and makes explicit reference to promoting real-time access to reliable data making use of space and in situ information under Priority for Action 1, “Understanding disaster risk”. Such access is key to developing an understanding of disaster risk in all its...
On 10 September 2019, 60 participants of the ninth annual UN-SPIDER Beijing conference and officials from Chinese government organizations attended the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” project manager training. The training was co-organized by the UN-SPIDER Beijing office and the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China (NDRCC) and hosted at the facilities of NDRCC in Beijing...
In the run up to this year's UN-SPIDER Beijing conference on 11 and 12 September, 30 participants from around Asia attended the international training programme on space-based technologies for disaster risk assessment from 5 to 9 September, which was hosted at the Regional Centre for Space Science Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (RCSSTEAP) based at Beihang University, Beijing. The...
Timely and reliable information about precipitation, soil moisture and vegetation health provide essential insights for early detection of drought. Space-based information, which helps monitor these parameters, is a central data source for effective drought early warning systems. Upon the request of the Government of Ethiopia, UN-SPIDER is carrying out a Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) to Addis...
A new report warns that the Asia-Pacific region is not sufficiently prepared for a new climate reality marked by an intensification and changing geography of disaster risks that are becoming harder to predict. The “Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019”, a biennial publication by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), finds that slow-onset disasters –...
Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes. “Today the disease is endemic in 141 countries, affecting 390 million people and with a global annual cost estimated at almost US$9 billion. Since 2000, there has been an increase of over 100% in the number of cases of dengue fever in Vietnam, and there is currently no system for forecasting future dengue outbreaks.” according to a...
“More than half of the world’s active volcanoes are not monitored instrumentally,” according to GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. Yet eruptions occur quite frequently, with up to 85 of the 1500 active volcanoes erupting each year, and can cause significant damage. For example, the 2018 volcanic eruptions at Fuego (Guatemala) and Anak Krakatau (Indonesia) resulted in 430 dead and missing persons. This...
In September 2018, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The impact, combined with the tsunami, landslides, and soil liquefaction that followed, “... claimed well over 2000 lives, destroyed homes, buildings, infrastructure and farmland in several districts,” according to the European Space Agency (ESA). Ten months later, response efforts are now moving into the...
Satellite technology became an integral part of efforts to detect and contain forest fires in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, Germany at the end of June and early July. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) used satellite information, along with images captured by the Modular Aerial Camera System (MACS), to create maps, which provided emergency services with up-to-date information about areas affected...
Upon the request of the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT), Government of Cameroon, UN-SPIDER carried out a week-long Institutional Strengthening Mission (ISM) to Yaoundé from 15 to 19 July. The mission aimed to strengthen the capacities of the Department of Civil Protection (DPC) of Cameroon in using space-based information in all phases of the disaster management cycle. It was the...
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