Corina Warfield

Goals of Disaster Management:

Disaster management aims to reduce, or avoid,

the potential losses from hazards, assure prompt
and appropriate assistance to victims of disaster,
and achieve rapid and effective recovery. The
Disaster management cycle illustrates the
ongoing process
by which (1) Reduce, or avoid, losses from
governments, hazards;
(2) Assure prompt assistance to
businesses, and victims;
civil society plan (3) Achieve rapid and effective
for and reduce recovery.
the impact of
disasters, react during and immediately
following a disaster, and take steps to recover
after a disaster has occurred. Appropriate actions
at all points in the cycle lead to greater
preparedness, better warnings, reduced
vulnerability or the prevention of disasters
during the next iteration of the cycle. The
complete disaster management cycle includes the
shaping of public policies and plans that either
modify the causes of disasters or mitigate their
effects on people, property, and infrastructure.

The mitigation and preparedness phases occur as

disaster management improvements are made in
anticipation of a disaster event. Developmental
considerations play a key role in contributing to
the mitigation and preparation of a community to
effectively confront a disaster. As a disaster
occurs, disaster management actors, in particular
humanitarian organizations, become involved in
the immediate response and long-term recovery
phases. The four disaster management phases
illustrated here do not always, or even generally,
occur in isolation or in this precise order. Often
phases of the cycle overlap and the length of
each phase greatly depends on the severity of the
disaster.

o Mitigation - Minimizing the effects of

disaster.
 Examples: building codes and zoning;
vulnerability analyses; public education.
o Preparedness - Planning how to respond.
Examples: preparedness plans;
emergency exercises/training; warning
systems.
o Response - Efforts to minimize the
hazards created by a disaster.
Examples: search and rescue; emergency
relief .
o Recovery - Returning the community to
normal.
Examples: temporary housing; grants;
medical care.

Sustainable Development

Developmental considerations contribute to all

aspects of the disaster management cycle. One of
the main goals of disaster management, and one
of its strongest links with development, is the
promotion of sustainable livelihoods and their
protection and recovery during disasters and
emergencies. Where this goal is achieved, people
have a greater capacity to deal with disasters and
their recovery is more rapid and long lasting. In a
development oriented disaster management
approach, the objectives are to reduce hazards,
prevent disasters, and prepare for emergencies.
Therefore, developmental considerations are
strongly represented in the mitigation and
preparedness phases of the disaster management
cycle. Inappropriate development processes can
lead to increased vulnerability to disasters and
loss of preparedness for emergency situations.

Mitigation

Mitigation activities actually eliminate or reduce

the probability of disaster occurrence, or reduce
the effects of unavoidable disasters. Mitigation
measures include building codes; vulnerability
analyses updates; zoning and land use
management; building use regulations and safety
codes; preventive health care; and public
education.

Mitigation will depend on the incorporation of

appropriate measures in national and regional
development planning. Its effectiveness will also
depend on the availability of information on
hazards, emergency risks, and the
countermeasures to be taken. The mitigation
phase, and indeed the whole disaster
management cycle, includes the shaping of
public policies and plans that either modify the
causes of disasters or mitigate their effects on
people, property, and infrastructure.

Preparedness

The goal of emergency preparedness programs is

to achieve a satisfactory level of readiness to
respond to any emergency situation through
programs that strengthen the technical and
managerial capacity of governments,
organizations, and communities. These measures
can be described as logistical readiness to deal
with disasters and can be enhanced by having
response mechanisms and procedures, rehearsals,
developing long-term and short-term strategies,
public education and building early warning
systems. Preparedness can also take the form of
ensuring that strategic reserves of food,
equipment, water, medicines and other essentials
are maintained in cases of national or local
catastrophes.

During the preparedness phase, governments,

organizations, and individuals develop plans to
save lives, minimize disaster damage, and
enhance disaster response operations.
Preparedness measures include preparedness
plans; emergency exercises/training; warning
systems; emergency communications systems;
evacuations plans and training; resource
inventories; emergency personnel/contact lists;
mutual aid agreements; and public
information/education. As with mitigations
efforts, preparedness actions depend on the
incorporation of appropriate measures in national
and regional development plans. In addition,
their effectiveness depends on the availability of
information on hazards, emergency risks and the
countermeasures to be taken, and on the degree
to which government agencies, non-
governmental organizations and the general
public are able to make use of this information.

Humanitarian Action

During a disaster, humanitarian agencies are

often called upon to deal with immediate
response and recovery. To be able to respond
effectively, these agencies must have
experienced leaders, trained personnel, adequate
transport and logistic support, appropriate
communications, and guidelines for working in
emergencies. If the necessary preparations have
not been made, the humanitarian agencies will
not be able to meet the immediate needs of the
people.

Response

The aim of emergency response is to provide

immediate assistance to maintain life, improve
health and support the morale of the affected
population. Such assistance may range from
providing specific but limited aid, such as
assisting refugees with transport, temporary
shelter, and food, to establishing semi-permanent
settlement in camps and other locations. It also
may involve initial repairs to damaged
infrastructure. The focus in the response phase is
on meeting the basic needs of the people until
more permanent and sustainable solutions can be
found. Humanitarian organizations are often
strongly present in this phase of the disaster
management cycle.
 Recovery

As the emergency is brought under control, the

affected population is capable of undertaking a
growing number of activities aimed at restoring
their lives and the infrastructure that supports
them. There is no distinct point at which
immediate relief changes into recovery and then
into long-term sustainable development. There
will be many opportunities during the recovery
period to enhance prevention and increase
preparedness, thus reducing vulnerability.
Ideally, there should be a smooth transition from
recovery to on-going development.

Recovery activities continue until all systems

return to normal or better. Recovery measures,
both short and long term, include returning vital
life-support systems to minimum operating
standards; temporary housing; public
information; health and safety education;
reconstruction; counseling programs; and
economic impact studies. Information resources
and services include data collection related to
rebuilding, and documentation of lessons
learned.

References

o Environmental health in emergencies and

disasters: A practical guide. WHO, 2002.
o DisasterHelp, US Department of
Homeland Security.

o Green Paper on Disaster Management,

Department of Provincial and Local
Government, South Africa
Do you have any suggestions or additions to make
on the above information? Please send an email to
Hari Srinivas at hsrinivas@gdrc.org

http://www.gdrc.org/uem/disasters/1-dm_cycle.html...rabu 170210
 Return to Disaster Management
Contact: Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org

GISdevelopment.net ---> Application ---> Natural Hazard Management

Disaster management

D.P.Rao
Director, National Remote Sensing Agency,
(Department of Space, Govt. of India),
Balanagar, Hyderabad - 500 037
director@nrsa.gov.in

Abstract
With the tropical climate and unstable landforms, coupled with high population density,
poverty, illiteracy and lack of adequate infrastructure, India is one of the most vulnerable
developing countries to suffer very often from various natural disasters, namely drought,
flood, cyclone, earth quake, landslide, forest fire, hail storm, locust, volcanic eruption, etc.
Which strike causing a devastating impact on human life, economy and environment.
Though it is almost impossible to fully recoup the damage caused by the disasters, it is
possible to (i) minimize the potential risks by developing early warning strategies (ii) prepare
and implement developmental plans to provide resilience to such disasters (iii) mobilize
resources including communication and telemedicinal services, and (iv) to help in
rehabilitation and post-disaster reconstruction. Space technology plays a crucial role in
efficient mitigation of disasters. While communication satellites help in disaster warning,
relief mobilization and tele-medicinal support, earth observation satellites provide required
database for pre-disaster preparedness programmes, disaster response, monitoring
activities and post-disaster damage assessment, and reconstruction, and rehabilitation. The
article describes the role of space technology in evolving a suitable strategy for disaster
preparedness and operational framework for their monitoring, assessment and mitigation,
identifies gap areas and recommends appropriate strategies for disaster mitigation vis-à-vis
likely developments in space and ground segments.

Introduction
Various disasters like earthquake, landslides, volcanic eruptions, fires, flood and cyclones
are natural hazards that kill thousands of people and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and
property each year. The rapid growth of the world's population and its increased
concentration often in hazardous environment has escalated both the frequency and severity
of natural disasters. With the tropical climate and unstable land forms, coupled with
deforestation, unplanned growth proliferation non-engineered constructions which make the
disaster-prone areas mere vulnerable, tardy communication, poor or no budgetary allocation
for disaster prevention, developing countries suffer more or less chronically by natural
disasters. Asia tops the list of casualties due to natural disaster. Among various natural
hazards, earthquakes, landslides, floods and cyclones are the major disasters adversely
affecting very large areas and population in the Indian sub-continent. These natural
disasters are of (i) geophysical origin such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land slides
and (ii) climatic origin such as drought, flood, cyclone, locust, forest fire. Though it may not
be feasible to control nature and to stop the development of natural phenomena but the
efforts could be made to avoid disasters and alleviate their effects on human lives,
infrastructure and property. Rising frequency, amplitude and number of natural disasters and
attendant problem coupled with loss of human lives prompted the General Assembly of the
United Nations to proclaim 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
(IDNDR) through a resolution 44/236 of December 22, 1989 to focus on all issues related to
natural disaster reduction. In spite of IDNDR, there had been a string of major disaster
throughout the decade. Nevertheless, by establishing the rich disaster management related
traditions and by spreading public awareness the IDNDR provided required stimulus for
disaster reduction. It is almost impossible to prevent the occurrence of natural disasters and
their damages. However it is possible to reduce the impact of disasters by adopting suitable
disaster mitigation strategies. The disaster mitigation works mainly address the following: (i)
minimise the potential risks by developing disaster early warning strategies, (ii) prepare and
implement developmental plans to provide resilience to such disasters, (iii) mobilise
resources including communication and tele-medicinal services and (iv) to help in
rehabilitation and post-disaster reduction. Disaster management on the other hand involves:
(i) pre-disaster planning, preparedness, monitoring including relief management capability.
(ii) prediction and early warning. (iii) damage assessment and relief management. Disaster
reduction is a systematic work which involves with different regions, different professions
and different scientific fields, and has become an important measure for human, society and
nature sustainable development.

Role of Space Technology

Space systems from their vantage position have unambiguously demonstrated their
capability in providing vital information and services for disaster management ( Fig.1).The
Earth Observation satellites provide comprehensive, synoptic and multi temporal coverage
of large areas in real time and at frequent intervals and 'thus' - have become valuable for
continuous monitoring of atmospheric as well as surface parameters related to natural
disasters(Table-1). Geo-stationary satellites provide continuous and synoptic observations
over large areas on weather including cyclone-monitoring. Polar orbiting satellites have the
advantage of providing much higher resolution imageries, even though at low temporal
frequency, which could be used for detailed monitoring, damage assessment and long-term
relief management. The vast capabilities of communication satellites are available for timely
dissemination of early warning and real-time coordination of relief operations. The advent of
Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) and Ultra Small Aperture Terminals (USAT) and
phased - array antennae have enhanced the capability further by offering low cost, viable
technological solutions towards management and mitigation of disasters. Satellite
communication capabilities-fixed and mobile are vital for effective communication, especially
in data collection, distress alerting, position location and co-ordinating relief operations in the
field. In addition, Search and Rescue satellites provide capabilities such as position
determination facilities onboard which could be useful in a variety of land, sea and air
distress situations.

Table 1. Applications of space remote sensing in disaster management

Disaster Prevention Preparedness (Warning) Relief
Mapping geological Geodynamic measurements Locate stricken areas,
Earthquakes
lineaments land use ofstrain accumulation mapdamage
Mapping lava flows,
Volcanic Topographi and Detection/measurement of
ashfalls and
eruptions land use maps gaseous emissions
lahars,map damage
Topographic and
Landslides Rainfall,slope stability Mapping slide area
land use maps
Flash floods Land use maps Local rainfall measurements Map flood damage
Flood plain maps; Regional
Major floods Map extent of floods
land use maps rainfall;evapotranspiration
Storm surge Land use and land Sea state;ocean surface wind Map extent of damage
 cover maps velocities
Hurricanes Synoptic weather forecasts Map extent of damage
Nowcasts; local weather Local Map amount, extent of
Tornadoes
weather observations damage
Monitoring vegetative
Drought Long ranged climate models
biomass;

Normal -Operational or needs very little research

Underlined -Research and development required
Bold -Requires improved observation capability
Italics -Requires improved spatial or temporal resolution

Drought

Drought is the single most important weather- related natural disaster often aggravated by
human action. Drought's beginning is subtle, its progress is insidious and its effects can be
devastating. Drought may start any time, last indefinitely and attain many degrees of
severity. Since it affects very large areas for months and years it has a serious impact on
economy, destruction of ecological resources, food shortages and starvation of millions of
people. During 1967-1991, droughts have affected 50 percent of the 2.8 billion people who
suffered from all natural disasters and killed 35 percent of the 3.5 million people who lost
their lives due to natural disasters. Owing to abnormalities in the monsoon precipitation, in
terms of spatial and temporal variation especially on the late on set of monsoon, prolonged
break and early withdrawal of monsoon, drought is a frequent phenomenon over many parts
of India. In India, thirty three percent of the area receives less than 750mm rainfall and is
chronically drought-prone, and thirty five percent of the area with 750-1125mm rainfall is
also subject to drought once in four to five years. Thus, 68 percent of the total sown area
covering about 142 million hectares are vulnerable to drought conditions. India has faced
three major droughts in this century- 1904-1905,1965-66 and 1986-87. The 1987 drought
had a lasting impact on one-third of the country. The role of space technology in drought
mitigation is enumerated hereunder:

Drought Preparedness
Drought mitigation involves three phases, namely, preparedness phase, prevention phase
and relief phase. In case of drought preparedness, identification of drought prone areas
information on land use and land cover, waste lands, forest cover and soils is a pre-
requisite. Space-borne multi spectral measurements hold a great promise in providing such
information.

Drought Prediction
Remote sensing data provide major input to all the three types rainfall predictions; namely
such as long-term seasonal predictions, medium range predictions and short-term
predictions. Global and regional atmospheric, land and ocean parameters (temperature,
pressure, wind, snow, El-Nino, etc.) required for long-term prediction, could be generated
from observations made by geo-stationary and polar orbiting weather satellites such as
INSAT and NOAA . In the medium range weather prediction, the National Centre Medium
Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) uses satellite-based sea surface temperature ,
normalised difference vegetation index, snow covered area and depth, surface temperature,
altitude, roughness, soil moisture at surface level and vertical sounding and radio sonde
data on water vapor, pressure and temperature, and vertical profile data in the T86/NMC
model. In the short-range rainfall prediction also INSAT-based visible and thermal data are
being used.

Drought Monitoring
Drought monitoring mechanisms exists in most of the countries using ground-based
information on drought- related parameters such as rainfall, weather, crops condition and
water availability, etc. Conventional methods of drought monitoring in the various States in
India suffer from limitations with regard to timeliness, objectivity, reliability and adequacy
(Jeyaseelan and Thiruvengadachari, 1986). Further, the assessment is generally, influenced
by local compulsions. In order to overcome the above limitations, -sponsored a project titled
'National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS)' and
sponsored by the Dept. of Agriculture and Cooperation and Dept. of Space Dept. of Space
(DOS) was taken up by the National Remote Sensing Agency in collaboration with the India
Meteorological Department (IMD), Central Water Commission (CWC) and concerned State
Government agencies. The focus has been on the assessment of agricultural drought
conditions in terms of prevalence, relative severity level and persistence through the season.
Satellite-derived Vegetation Index (VI) which is sensitive to vegetation stress is being used
as a surrogate measure to continuously monitor the drought conditions on a real -time basis.
Such an exercise helps the decision makers in initiating strategies for recovery by changing
cropping patterns and practices. Initially, NDVI derived from NOAA-AVHRR data was used
for drought monitoring biweekly drought bulletins have been issued between 1989 to 1991,
and reports on monthly detailed crop and seasonal condition during kharif season (June to
October) have been brought out since 1992 at district level (Fig.2). The project covers
eleven agriculturally important and drought-vulnerable States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil
Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
With the availability of Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS) WiFS data with 188m spatial
resolution, the methodology is being updated to provide quantitative information on sowings,
surface water spread, and taluk / mandal /block level crop condition assessment along with
spatial variation in terms of maps (Fig.2). The IRS WiFS -based detailed monitoring has
been opertionalised for Andhra Pradesh State in 1998, and subsequently extended to Orissa
and Karnataka.

Drought Relief
The State Governments are primarily responsible for both short -term and long- term relief
management. The NADAMS provide detailed assessment of drought conditions for providing
short -term relief.

Long-term management:
Several chronically drought-affected districts in India experience acute shortage of drinking
and irrigation water. To address this issue, a nationwide project titled 'Integrated Mission for
Sustainable Development (IMSD)' was taken up in collaboration with other DOS centres and
State Remote Sensing Applications Centres. The project essentially aims at generating
locale-specific action plan for development of land and water resources on a micro
watershed basis in drought- prone areas of the country using IRS data. In the first phase,
175 districts covering 84 million ha has been covered (Rao,1998).
For providing safe drinking water to rural masses, a nationwide project titled "National
Drinking Water Technology Mission", was launched by Department of Space (DOS) in
collaboration with other State Remote Sensing Applications Centres, and Central Ground
Water Board and State Ground water Departments. Ground water potential maps showing
ground water prospect at 1:250,000 scale have been prepared for entire country. The
success rate achieved by drilling wells through the use of remote sensing data has been
found to be much better than those achieved by conventional means. Furthermore, as a
follow-up large scale (1:50,000) mapping of ground water prospects for Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerela under Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking
Water Mission is in progress.

Cyclone
The intense tropical storms are known in different part of the world by different names. In the
Pacific ocean, they are called 'typhoons', in the Indian ocean they are called 'cyclones' and
over North Atlantic, they are called 'hurricane'. Among various natural calamaties, tropical
cyclones are known to claim a higher share of deaths and distruction world over. Records
show that about 80 tropical cyclones form over the globe every year. India has a vast coast
line which is frequently affected by tropical cyclones causing heavy loss of human lives and
property. Cyclones occurs usually between April and May (called pre-monsoon cyclonic
storms) and between October and December (called post-monsoon cyclonic storms). While
cyclonic storms can't be prevented, the loss of lives and damage to the properties can be
mitigated if prompt action is taken after receiving timely warnings.

Cyclone Warning
Meteorologists have been using satellite images for monitoring storms for about thirty years.
One of the most important applications in this endeavour is to determine the strength and
intensity of a storm. In the late 1960's, meteorologists began observing tropical cyclones at
more frequent intervals. The infrared sensors aboard polar orbiting satellites began providing
day-and-night observations while geo-stationary satellite provided the continuous coverage
during daytime. There exists a very efficient cyclone warning system in India which is
comparable to the best known in the world. The approach essentially involves the prediction
of the track and intensity of the cyclone using conventional as well as satellite and radar-
based techniques (Kellar, 1997).
A network of 10-cyclone detection radar covering entire East and West Coasts is being used
for cyclone warning each with a range of 400 km. When cyclone is beyond the range of
coastal radar, its intensity and movement is monitored with the help of INSAT, and NOAA
series of satellites. The INSAT provides every three-hourly cloud pictures over the Indian
subcontinent. For precise location, every half-an-hour pictures are used. Warnings are
issued by the Area Cyclone Warning Centers (ACWS) located at Calcutta, Madras, and
Bombay; and Cyclone Warning Centers (CWC) located at Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam
and Ahmedabad. Around 100 disaster warning systems have been installed in cyclone-
prone villages of Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu. It is planned to expand such facility with
another 100 DWS in Orissa and West Bengal on the East coast. The DWC disseminates
warning of impending event to village administration, District Collector, State Government
officials, etc. The most memorable use of DWS system has been during the cyclone that hit
the Andhra Pradesh coast on may 9, 1990, in evacuating over 1,70,000 people. The
information helped saving thousands of lives and livestock in this area. Additional DWS units
are being established to cover the entire coastal areas of the country.

Cyclone Management
The most striking advantage of the earth observation satellite data has been demonstrated
during the recent Orissa super-cyclone event. A severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed
about 260 kmph hit the Orissa coast at Paradip on 29-oct-99 causing extensive damage to
human life, property, live stock and public utilities. The National Remote Sensing Agency
acted promptly and provided spatial extent of inundated areas using pre-cyclone IRS LISS-
III data collected on 11th October, 1999 and Radarsat Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) data
of 2nd November, 1999 since cloud -free optical sensor data over the cyclone-hit area were
not available (Fig.3). The map showing inundated area as on 2nd Nov, 1999 was drapped
over topographical map, and was delivered to the Orissa Government on 3rd Nov,1999.
Information, thus generated, was effectively used by various departments of Orissa
Government involved in relief operations. Subsequently, the recession of inundated areas
was also studied using Radarsat and IRS data of 5th,8th,11th,13th and 14th November,
1999. An estimated 3.75 lakh ha in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur,
besides Cuttack, Khurda and Puri districts had been found to be inundated. In addition, the
crop damage assessment was also made and maps along with block-wise statistics derived
using pre-and post-cyclone NDVI image from IRS WiFS data were also provided to Orissa
Government.

Floods
India is the worst flood-affected country in the world after Bangladesh and accounts for one-
fifth of the global death count due to floods. About 40 million hectares or nearly 1/8th of
India's geographical area is flood-prone. An estimated 8 million hectares of land are affected
annually. The cropped area affected annually ranges from 3.5 million ha during normal
floods to 10 million ha during worst flood. Flood control measures consists mainly of
construction of new embankments, drainage channels and afforestation to save 546 towns
and 4700 villages. Optical and microwave data from IRS, Landsat ERS and Radarsat series
of satellites have been used to map and monitor flood events in near real-time and
operational mode(Fig.4). Information on inundation and damage due to floods is furnished to
concerned departments so as to enable them organising necessary relief measures and to
make a reliable assessment of flood damage. Owing to large swath and high repetivity,
WiFS data from IRS-1C and -1D hold great promise in floods monitoring.
Based on satellite data acquired during pre-flood, flood and post-flood along with ground
information, flood damage assessment is being carried out by integrating the topographical,
hydrological and flood plain land use/land cover information in a GIS environment. In
addition, spaceborne multispectral data have been used for studying the post-flood river
configuration, and existing flood control structures , and identification of bank erosion-prone
areas and drainage congestion, and identification of flood risk zones.

Flood Disaster Impact Minimization

Flood forecasts are issued currently by Central Water Commission using conventional
rainfall runoff models with an accuracy of around 65% to 70% with a warning time of six to
twelve hours. The poor performance is attributed to the high spatial variability of rainfall not
captured by ground measurements and lack of spatial information on the catchment
characteristics of the basin such as current hydrological land use / land cover, spatial
variability of soils, etc. Incorporation of remote sensing inputs such as satellite-derived
rainfall estimates, current hydrological land use / land cover, soil information, etc. in rainfall-
runoff model subsequently improves the flood forecast. Improvements in flood forecasting
was tested in lower Godavari basin in a pilot study titled "Spatial Flood Warning System".
Under this project, a comprehensive database including Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
generated using Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), hydraulic/hydrologic
modeling capabilities and a Decision Support System (DSS) for appropriate relief response
has been addressed in collaboration with concerned departments of Andhra Pradesh
Government. Initial results have been quite encouraging. The deviation in the flood forecast
from actual river flood has been within 15%.

Earthquake
Earthquakes are caused by the abrupt release of strain that has built up in the earth's crust.
Most zones of maximum earthquake intensity and frequency occur at the boundaries
between the moving plates that form the crust of the earth. Major earthquakes also occur
within the interior of crustal plates such as those in China, Russia and the south-east United
States. A considerable research has been carried out to predict earthquakes using
conventional technologies, but the results to date are inconclusive. Seismic risk analysis
based on historic earthquakes and the presence of active faults is an established method for
locating and designing dams, power plants and other projects in seismically active areas.
Landsat-TM and SPOT images, and Radar interferograms have been used to detect the
active faults (Merifield and Lamer 1975; Yeats et al.1996; Massonnet et al. 1993). Areas
rocked by Landers earthquake (South California) of magnitude 7.3 were studied using ERS-
1 SAR interferometry which matched extremely well with a model of the earth's motion as
well as the local measurements (Masonnet and Advagna 1993). Active faults on the seafloor
could also be detected by side-scan sonar system (Prior et al, 1979). The earthquake
prediction is still at experimental stage. Successful prediction of minor earthquake have,
however, been reported. Among the major earthquakes, Chinese scientists predicted an
earthquake 1-2 days ahead in 1975 (Vogel, 1980). Information on earthquake is ,generally,
obtained from a network of seismographic stations. However, very recently the space
geodetic techniques and high resolution aerial and satellite data have been used for
earthquake prediction. Space geodetic technique with Global Positioning System (GPS)
provides an accuracy of a centimetre over 1000 km and , thus, helps in measuring the
surface deformations and monitoring accelerated crystal deformations prior to earth quakes
with required accuracy.
Earthquake risk assessment involves identification of seismic zones through collection of
geological / structural, geophysical (primarily seismological) and geomorphologic data and
mapping of known seismic phenomena in the region, (mainly epicenters with magnitudes).
Such an effort calls for considerable amount of extrapolation and interpolation on the basis
of available data. There is also a tendency for earthquake to occur in "gaps" which are in
places along an earthquake belt where strong earthquake had not previously been
observed. The knowledge of trends in time or in space helps in defining the source regions
of future shocks (Karnik and Algermissen, 1978). Satellite imagery could be used in
delineating geotectonic structures and to clarify seismological conditions in earthquake risk
zones. Accurate mapping of geomorphologic features adjoining lineaments reveals active
movement or recent tectonic activity along faults. The relationship between major lineaments
and the seismic activity has been observed in Latur area of Maharastra, India. Space
techniques have overcome the limitations of ground geodetic surveys/measurements and
have become an essential tool to assess the movement/displacements along faults/plate
boundaries to even millimetre level accuracy.
Using Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), it has been possible to record accurately
the plate movement of the order of centimetre along baseline of hundreds of kilometre.
Similarly, satellite-based Global Positioning system (GPS) has emerged as a powerful
geodetic tool for monitoring (geological) changes over time which is the key for
understanding the long-term geo-dynamical phenomena. GPS has been particularly useful
in measuring the more complex deformation patterns across plate boundaries where large
and regional scale strain builds up. Plate movements, slips along faults etc. have been
measured using differential GPS to an accuracy of sub-centimetres.

Volcanic Eruption
Many times precursors of volcanic eruptions have been observed in various areas of
volcanic activity. Ground deformations, changes in the compositions of gases emitting from
volcanic vents, changes in the temperatures of fumaroles, hot springs and crater lakes as
well as earth tremors are preceding volcanic eruptions. Thermal infrared remote sensing has
been applied for volcanic hazard assessment. However, deficiencies of equipment and
coverage suggest that thermal infrared has not been adequately evaluated for surveillance
of volcanoes. The National Remote Sensing Agency has demonstrated the potential of multi-
temporal Landsat-TM thermal band data in the surveillance of active volcanoes over Barren
island volcano which erupted during March 1991 to September 1991 (Bhatacharya et al.
1992). In the last three decades, aircraft and satellite-based thermal infrared (TIR) data have
been used extensively to detect and monitor many of the active volcanoes around the world.
Repetitive coverage, regional scale, and low cost of thermal infrared images from satellites
make it an alternative tool for monitoring volcanoes. Although the spatial resolution of NOAA
environment satellite is too coarse to record details of surface thermal patterns, the plumes
of smoke and ash from volcanoes could be detected which is useful in planning the
rehabilitation of affected areas. Studies have shown that the upward migration of magma
from the earth's crust just before eruption inflates the volcanic cone. Such premonitory signs
can easily and quickly be detected with the aid of differential SAR interferometry. Extensive
calibrations in a variety of test areas have shown that by using this technique, changes on
the earth's surface can be detected to a centimetre accuracy.
Landslides
Aerial photographs and large-scale satellite images have been used to locate the areas with
the incidence of landslide. Higher spatial resolution and stereo imaging capability of IRS -IC
and -1D enable further refining the location and monitoring of landslides. A number of
studies have been carried out in India using satellite data and aerial photographs to develop
appropriate methodologies for terrain classification and preparation of maps showing
landslide hazards in the Garhwal Himalayan region, Nilagiri hills in south India and in Sikkim
forest area. Such studies have been carried out using mostly aerial photographs because of
their high resolution enabling contour mapping with intervals of better than 2m in height. The
availability of 1m resolution data from the future IRS mission may help generating contour
maps at 2m intervals making thereby space remote sensing a highly cost effective tool in
landslide zonation.

Crop Pest and Diseases

One of the successful programmes where space technology has been used in risk
assessment from crop pests/diseases is the Desert Locust Satellite Applications project of
the UN/FAO for the International Desert Locust Commission. Temporal and spatial
distribution of desert vegetation and rainfall derived from NOAA-AVHRR data have been
used to identify the potential Locust breeding grounds. In India, the desert locust is epidemic
over 2 lakhs sq.km spread over Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana states. Improved desert
locust forecasting system is being tried with the help of satellite data by the locust warning
organizations by narrowing down the potential breeding areas to undertake aerial spraying
for arresting further growth of locust.

Forest Fire
Several thousands of hectares of forests are burnt annually due to manmade forest fires
causing extensive damage to forest wealth. The behaviour of forest fire depends upon three
parameters: fuel, weather, and topography. Each parameter has several characteristic
parameters. The most important task in the preparedness phase is to assess the risk. For
risk assessment variables such as land use/land cover, demography, infrastructure and
urban interface are considered. Effective mitigation of forest fire involves fuel (land cover,
weather, terrain, vegetation type and moisture level) mapping, identification of fire risk areas,
rapid detection, local and global fire monitoring and assessment of burnt areas. The analysis
of near-real time low spatial resolution (1km) and high repetivity data from NOAA and high
spatial resolution data with low repetivity from earth resources satellites could provide the
information on areas under fire. The IRS satellite data have been used for monitoring forest
fires over Nagarhole Wild Life Sanctuary of Southern India.

Conclusions
Apart from loss of human lives, natural disasters inflict severe damage to ecology and
economy of a region. Space technology has made significant contribution in all the three
phases, i.e. preparedness, prevention and relief of disaster management. With a
constellation of both INSAT and IRS series of satellites, India has developed an operational
mechanism for disaster warning especially cyclone and drought, and their monitoring and
mitigation. However, prediction of certain events likes earthquake, volcanic eruption and
flood is still at experimental level. Developments in space-based earth observation and
weather watch capabilities in future may help refining existing models/approaches for
prediction of such events and their management.

References

Battacharya, A.; Reddy, C.S.S. & Srivastav, S.K. 1992, Remote sensing for active volcano
monitoring in Barren island South Andamans, India, using shortwave infrared satellite data.
NRSA/AG/GD/TR-1/92, NRSA, Hyderabad.
Jeyaseelan A.T. & S.Thiruvengadachari 1986, Current Drought monitoring system in
Andhra Pradesh states. Report No: IRS-UP- NRSA-DRM-TR 03, National Remote Sensing
Agency, and Hyderabad.
Karnik, V. & Algermissen, S.T., 1978, Seismic Zoning- Chapter in the Assessment and
Mitigation of Earthquake Risk. UNESCO,Paris,pp11-47.
Massonnet, D. & Advagna,F. 1993, A full scale validation of radar interferometry with ERS-
1: The Landers earthquake. Earth Observation Quarterly, No.41.
Rao, D.P. 1998, Remote sensing & GIS for sustainable development: An overview. Proc. Int.
Symp. on Resource and Environmental Monitoring : Local, regional and global. Sept. 1-
4,1998 Budapest, Hungary.
Rao, U.R. 1996, Space Technology for Sustainable Development. Tata McGraw-Hill
Publishing company Ltd. New Delhi , India.
Vogel, A. 1980, Contribution of Space Technology to Earthquake Prediction, Research,
Adv. Earth Oriented Application. Space Technology.
Massonnnet, D., M.Rossi, C.Carmona, F.Adragna, G.Peltzer, K.Feigl, & T.Rabaute,
1993, The displacement field of the Landers earthquake mapped by radar interferometry:
Nature, v. 364, p. 138-142.
Merifield, P.m. & D.L.Lamar, 1975, Active and inactive faults in southern california viewed
from Skylab: NASA Earth Resources Survey Symposium, NASA TM X-58168, v. 1, p.779-
797.
Prior, D.B., J.M.Coleman, & L.E.Garrison, 1979, Digitally acquired undistroted side-scan
sonar images of submarine landslides Mississippi River Delta: Geology, v. 7, p.
Yeats, R.S., K.Sieh, & C.A.Alklen, 1996, Geology of earthquakes: Oxford University Press,
New York, NY.

© GISdevelopment.net. All rights reserved.

http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/natural_hazards/overview/nho0004pf.htm

disaster policy : http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/publications/disaster_policy.pdf

kesadaran bencana
http://www.news.id.finroll.com/news/14-berita-terkini/22522-____sultan-hb-x--
kesadaran-manajemen-bencana-perlu-ditingkatkan____.pdf...rabu 170210

outcome indonesia ; http://www.hyogo.uncrd.or.jp/publication/pdf/Report/SESI

%20Outcome/SESI%20Outcome%20Bahasa%20Indonesia%20final.pdf rabu 170210,
14:05

daftar bencana gempa di Indonesia