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UNOSAT has released on the internet the Atlas of Tsunami Damages on Saval´i & Upolu Islands, Samoa. UNOSAT Humanitarian Rapid Mapping service was activated at the request of UN humanitarian agencies involved in the response to the disaster.
This atlas map product illustrates satellite-detected areas of likely building and vegetation damages caused by the magnitude 8.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami on 29 September 2009. A total of 9 separate focus maps are included, highlighting damage sites identified from post-disaster satellite imagery collected from 30 September...
In the wake of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed over 230,000 lives and left millions displaced, the urgent need for a coordinated disaster response system among international agencies, governments, and humanitarian organizations became glaringly evident. In response, the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) was established to bridge the gap between real-time disaster data and response capabilities. Integral to this effort was UNOSAT’s development of the Satellite Mapping Coordination System (SMCS) in 2010, following the Haiti earthqu...
Spot Image S.A and UNOSAT have a history of working together to enable mapping activities and applications based on Earth Observation data. A formal agreement signed recently reaffirms and strengthen the partnership linking UNOSAT and SPOT IMAGE and providing the United Nations with favorable rates on satellite imagery routinely used at UNOSAT to produce analyses and crisis management maps. Spot Image was part of the partnership that gave origin to the UNOSAT Project in 2000, which led through a process of technical and financial consolidation to the present operational pro...
UNOSAT is gradually integrating collaborative mapping and crowd sourcing into its work. In the case of the floods in Colombia, UNOSAT is reaching out to disaster managers and field staff in the country to assist with validation of the flood extent analysis and by sending in geographic position tagged photos. The application being used for this operation has been developed within the EU funded GEO-PICTURES project in which UNOSAT works with AnusR Technologies of Norway and numerous other partners....
For this event, UNOSAT requested the activation of the « International Charter Space and Major Disasters ». This arrangement between several national space agencies and ESA provides free satellite data for the realisation of geospatial products to be used in humanitarian and emergency response operations following natural and technological disasters.
UNOSAT has benefited from this mechanism since 2003 and created hundreds of maps based on Charter data for the benefit of a large number of humanitarian and development agencies of the UN involved in responding to large disa...
Heavy rains in 2018 have triggered both flash floods and river floods in several parts of the country resulting in serious loss of life and widespread displacement of populations, In some provinces these floods are the worst since the early 20th century.
According to UN sources in the field, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Baluchistan, and Punjab have been the worst affected areas. Thousands of people have lost their homes and livelihoods. Crops have been destroyed, and roads and bridges damaged.
The UNOSAT Team, already activated on other current emergencies including floods i...
Operational since 2003, UNOSAT Rapid Mapping provides satellite image analysis during humanitarian emergencies, both natural disasters and conflict-situations. With a 24/7 year round availability to process requests, a team of experience analysts ensure timely delivery of satellite imagery derived maps, reports and data ready for direct inclusion in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) according to needs.
Typical situations for which UNOSAT Rapid Mapping is activated include floods, earthquakes, storms, landslides, volcanoes, oil spills, chemical waste, refugee and Interna...
6 February 2023, Geneva, Switzerland – On Monday 6 February 2023, two major earthquakes struck Türkiye and the northwestern parts of Syria in the early hours of the day.
The first, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, struck west of Gaziantep at 1:17 a.m. UTC. Just a few hours later, another strong earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck the region at 10:24 a.m. UTC, with its epicentre 100km north of the first one.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) activated the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT)'s Emergency Mapping service ov...
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is one of the most recent arrivals in Bonn and, by establishing its presence through an office, joins 24 other UN entities collectively “shaping a sustainable future” in a unique space of creativity and cooperation.
The UNITAR Bonn office will provide a full range of services spanning its work across all pillars of Agenda 2030, together with flagship programmes on multi-lateral diplomacy, climate change learning, e-waste, non-communicable disease, peace and satellite analysis & research. UNITAR provides in...
22 February 2025, Geneva, Switzerland – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is pleased to announce that Michelle Gyles-McDonnough has officially assumed office as its new Executive Director. She succeeds Nikhil Seth of India, whose mandate concluded on 31 January 2025. Ms. Gyles-McDonnough brings over 30 years of experience in sustainable development, policy advocacy, international trade, and organizational change management. She has held key leadership roles within the United Nations, most recently serving as Director of the Sustainable Dev...