Emergency Management pilot project

Every year thousands of lives and tens of billions of dollars are lost in accidents and disasters caused by sudden natural phenomena and man-made situations around the world. Natural disasters are inevitable, but much can be done to reduce causalities and economic loses if a warning about an imminent life threatening event is provided, and updated information during the accident or disaster progress is made available.

The world has never before had such a large supply of earth observation data. Quick access to the right types of satellite data, and the expertise in handling and analysing huge amount of data, are essential in order to take full advantage of Earth Observation (EO) to support one or more of the emergency management phases, which includes preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. Floods, hurricanes, forest fires, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis and extreme droughts are examples of accidents and disasters where EO can contribute.

E-MAN is a pilot project to study the market, organizational conditions, and the technical aspects of providing services based on EO in support of EM. If the pilot project identifies areas of application and services that will have a significant national and/or international potential, the actors will apply for funding for a main project for the development of the essential components for establishing such EM services.

In the E-MAN project, NR is in partnership with KSAT, which serves daily about 60 satellites. Data from several of these are very relevant to EM.