Space and disaster warning in developing countries

Abstract

Advent of space systems and their continuous developments have provided new capabilities to address various disaster situations - both man-made and natural - which have been causing untold misery and significant economic loss. The relevance of application of space systems is more significant in developing countries due to their particular situation which includes lack of terrestrial infrastructure and trained human resources. Space systems have a unique role to play in the warning of impending disasters to assist the level of preparedness and to minimise the loss of life and damage to productive resources. A global survey of space-based systems that can contribute to disaster warning services, specially as addressed to situations in developing countries are presented. Some concrete examples of such applications in developing countries are dealtwith in order to focus the technological and application features that address the solutions to the problems in the developing countries. Focus is also given on specific system configurations that would suit application in different disaster situations like cyclones, floods, drought, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc., which vary in terms of time scales of applications and predictability. In the wake of developments foreseen in the earth observations system and their instruments as well as in the communication satellite systems and services, the future capabilities for disaster warning systems are discussed. The issues relating to international coordination and cooperation for effectively addressing the needs of developing countries were addressed. The existing technological and organisational efforts in the developing countries towards disaster warning services are discussed, drawing out some observations for future actions.