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Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall during the night of 14 to 15 March 2019 near Beira, a low-lying city of 500,000 residents in central Mozambique, before moving inland to neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi. The cyclone brought winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph) and torrential rains that caused rivers to burst over their banks and submerge streets and homes across several provinces in Mozambique. Governmental officials described the damage as "massive and horrifying" while IFRC and UN officials described seeing “water and water for miles and miles” and “90 percent of the Beir...
Fiona Meke, an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Fisheries Studies at the Solomon Islands National University, is actively engaged in environmental research and conservation efforts in the Solomon Islands and the Pacific region. Passionate about marine ecosystems and coastal communities, Fiona's career path has been guided by her drive to understand and address the most pressing environmental challenges, particularly those affecting her own home in the Solomon Islands and the broader Pacific region. Recognising the relevance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in ...
March 2019, Geneva, Switzerland – The UNOSAT Rapid Mapping Service has been supporting the humanitarian community with satellite imagery analysis for over 16 years. The service was established in 2003 to meet the demand of United Nations agencies, Member States and other humanitarian agencies for rapid mapping and satellite derived analysis in the wake of disasters and complex emergencies.
Last year, UNOSAT assessed 28 humanitarian crises resulting from natural disasters in 22 countries* across Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America upon request from sister UN agencies, go...
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...
21 July 2022, Geneva, Switzerland - The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is sometimes referred to as the “World’s Hazard Belt”. During the past five years, the region experienced tsunamis and earthquakes in Indonesia, severe droughts in Madagascar, floods and landslides in India, seasonal cyclones in the Islands of the Indian Ocean, and many more calamities. In these countries prone to both man-made and natural hazards, the domino effect on poverty, famine, societal imbalance cannot be discounted. Disaster Risk Management (DRM) is a priority area of collective interest to the Indi...
Micky Welin, Planning and Logistics Support Officer at Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) Vanuatu From Training to Action: Impact on Disaster Management Micky Welin's journey in disaster risk management (DRM) showcases the power of education and collaboration in enhancing disaster preparedness and response. Working as the Planning and Logistics Support Officer at Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Micky recognised the crucial need for advanced skills in Geospatial Information Technology (GIT) for effective disaster managem...
09 November 2021, Geneva, Switzerland - In South Asia, the monsoon season started early and forcefully this year. Nepal was particularly hit by heavy rainfall in June 2021: flooding and landslides were reported in many parts of the country and affected thousands of families*.
In August, rainfall intensified again for several consecutive days, with rivers overflowing, landslides triggered across the hills, and widespread inundation in the southern plains. In the affected areas, many houses, informal settlements, and other buildings were destroyed, forcing people to seek ref...
21 - 25 October 2018, Khartoum, Sudan – In partnership with the Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), UNITAR-UNOSAT delivered a 5-day workshop, with support from the Government of Norway, to enhance the technical capacity of officials to conduct hazard assessments using earth observation data and geographic information systems (GIS). The workshop brought together actors from the public sector, private sector and academia in Sudan, including the Federal Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice, Sudanese Re...
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...
UNOSAT is UNITAR's Unit focused on applying remote sensing, satellite imagery analysis, and broader geospatial technologies to challenges across the UN system and in support to Governments. Founded more than 18 years ago UNOSAT has grown to encompass activities on disaster response, supporting human rights, humanitarian relief, climate resilience, water management and other issues integral to the SDGs and the pillars of the UN. UNOSAT focuses its efforts on collaborations with thematically mandated UN partners which allows robust and significant production of analyses and d...