Exercise for rapid disaster relief from space

In Cyprus, disaster management experts of the European Union currently test a satellite based system for monitoring disaster areas. On behalf of the European Commission the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has developed a system that enables disaster relief workers to access up to date satellite images while being in the field and to exchange data among themselves.

The exercise takes place in the framework of the EU-project LIMES (Land and Sea Integrated Monitoring for European Security), which develops and applies satellite based technologies in the field of security for Europe. With the disaster training the German Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and the medical help organisation "Johanniter Unfallhilfe" are practicing for the case of emergency under realistic conditions on the basis of a simulated earthquake including a tsunami near the southern coast of Cyprus. The Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) at the German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) at DLR supports the disaster relief workers with up to date satellite images and satellite maps. The Institute for Communication and Navigation at DLR helps civil protection experts with communication and navigation technology. On today's wednesday the DLR team will demonstrate the satellite-based monitoring system to the Cypriot Minister of the Interior, Neoklis Silikiotis, and the German ambassador, Rolf Kaiser.

Further the United Nations provide a platform for disaster management and emergency measures that is arranged by them to the disaster relief workers. Coordinated by the UN-SPIDER program (Spaced based Information for Disaster management and Emergency Response) satellite scenes as well as maps derived out of these images following a disaster shall be supplemented with information gained on the ground on this platform in the foreseeable future. "With this free available service we can fulfil an important aspect of the UN-SPIDER mandate and achieve that all states and relief organisations get quicker access to space based information", says Jörg Szarzynski from the UN-SPIDER office in Bonn.

The rapid access to such information is necessary since after disasters like the earthquake in China or the cyclone in Myanmar rescue teams need to find out as soon as possible which help is most urgently needed at which place. Support is given by the new system from space: With the help of satellite images the relief workers get a first overview on blocked roads or destroyed buildings for instance. By means of a software they synchronise their observations on the ground with the satellite images and feed the data in a specialised network via satellite. The system is still a prototype but soon all involved organisations will be able to access the data directly over the network and supplement them with own information. The aim is to speed up the investigation of disaster areas in order that exactly the support that is needed urgently arrives as soon as possible on location.

"We want the powerful satellite technology being used quickly and effectively in case of emergency", says Michael Angermann from DLR-Institute for Communication and Navigation. Thus the prototype will be enhanced for civil protection during the coming months. "At the end it shall be as easy to use as a laptop or a phone without costing more", the scientists adds. "The more field teams are able to connect with each other, share their results and transfer them, the quicker and more accurate the international community is able to help", says Claus Höllein from the German Agency for Technical Relief (THW). Together with the medical help organisation "Johanniter Unfallhilfe" and the Cypriot civil protection the THW regularly trains European investigation experts on behalf of the European Union. In the context of advanced training, eleven investigators from eleven countries will be testing the new system under realistic operational conditions until Wednesday.

The one-week "Assessment Mission Course" (AMC) is part of the so-called EU mechanism that has been supporting the international cooperation in civil protection within the community since 2002. An important part of the mechanism consists in common trainings and seminars for relief units from all over Europe. The civil protection organisations are connected through a head quarter in Brussels and a communication network to be able to conjointly provide assistance. Recently EU experts have been active after the earthquake in China and the cyclone in Myanmar.