Based on communication with the Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Pacific Office, UNOOSA/UN-SPIDER requested the activation of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" to assess the damage caused by Super Typhoon Bopha that hit the island nation Palau on early morning of 3 Dec 2012. The activation aims at assessing damage associated with the wind, the storm surge and heavy rains.
JAXA, as the Emergency On-Call Officer (ECO), has done preliminary assessments and considered the following priority targets in Palau to collect satellite images - (1) Koror : Wind affected, largest population, (2) Angaur : Closest to the center path of typhoon, (3) Peleliu : 15km NW of Angaur, (4) Sonsorol: Far SW of the country (300km away from Koror).
Currently, UN-SPIDER is working on activating the Charter for Bopha's impacts in the Philippines as well.
Please contact Shirish Ravan, UN-SPIDER Beijing Office (shirish.ravan [at] unoosa.org) in case any agency wants to contribute to monitoring situation using space based information.
This overview provides a clearer picture on UN-SPIDER's involvement in the coordination of efforts.
