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organisations and other end users are unable to work with the
raw data. In the refinement process, the satellite images are an-
alysed and crisis-related information is extracted from the data.
The resulting product is a map that is easier for users to inter-
pret; information such as the extent of the damage or possible
transportation routes can be seen at a glance. DLR researchers
have also supported the ZKI in assessment work for a number of
Charter activations. “The advantage of satellite data is the large-
scale view of the damage it provides. At the same time, we can
map details down to a spatial resolution of 50 centimetres,”
says Stefan Voigt, explaining the exceptional benefits of using
satellite data. Hence the maps could be used, for example, to
observe that the tsunami had penetrated up to four or five kilo-
metres inland in some places. So vital information for on-site aid
workers, such as damage to roads, bridges, buildings and infra-
structure equipment, was visible.
In the autumn of 2012, the Charter was activated by Hur-
ricane Sandy, among other disasters. Data from the German Ter-
raSAR-X satellite was also commissioned for Tropical Cyclone
Evan, which caused havoc in the Fiji Islands in mid-December. In
this instance, DLR also took on the role of ECO. Tobias Schnei-
derhan requested the necessary data as quickly as possible from
the various Charter member agencies. The Emergency on-Call
Officer is on permanent standby for one week and, as the first
expert point of contact, must immediately take critical decisions
in the event of an emergency. The partners in the Charter take
turns in the provision of the ECO service.
“In such a case, the Charter will have been triggered by a
‘call for help’ from an Authorised User,” he explains. The user
fills out a form and sends it to the On-duty Officer (ODO). This
job is carried out in shifts by staff at the European Space Agency
(ESA). The ODO reviews the request and passes it on to the ECO.
“The ECO is the first expert point of contact during the first
three hours following the event,” says Schneiderhan. The ECO
ensures that the area affected is imaged at the next available
opportunity by Charter agency satellites. Then, operations are
passed on to a Project Manager, who is responsible for further
coordination for up to two weeks. And he adds: “We compare
the Project Manager to a conductor – he or she is the central in-
terface to the member agencies, the end users and the experts
that generate the image analyses and map products from the
satellite images. They document the entire process and may or-
der more data if necessary – depending on how the situation
develops in the disaster area.”
•
More information:
Charter website:
International Charter Universal Access:
ZKI
TerraSAR-X:
TanDEM-X:
RapidEye:
Twitter:
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Disaster relief
• European Space Agency (ESA)
• Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
• Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE)
• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
• United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• UK Space Agency (UKSA) + DMC International Imaging (DMCii)
• China National Space Administration (CNSA)
• German Aerospace Center (DLR)
• Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
• National Institute for Space Research (INPE)
• European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological
Satellites (EUMETSAT)
• Russian Federal Space Agency ROSCOSMOS
Members of the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters‘
In January 2010 the Balkans were affected by massive rainfall that led
to widespread flooding. In this FORMOSAT-2 image, acquired on 13
January 2010, you can see the area around Shkoder, which was
particularly affected by the floods. The dark blue colour represents the
normal course of the river, while the flood plains are shown in light
blue.
