1. SPACE INPUTS TO DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
Dr V S Hegde
Associate Programme Director
Disaster Management Programme (DMS) Programme Office
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) HQ
Bangalore 560 094, India
Abstract: India recognizes the valuable roles space technology plays in being able
to reduce the potential damage due to the natural disasters. Over the years, space
applications as inputs to early warning, event monitoring and impact assessment,
broad-level hazard zonation and emergency communications, have helped in
reducing the country’s vulnerability to the natural disasters. In the recent years, the
focus of disaster management community is increasingly moving on to the more
effective utilizations of the technologies, including remote sensing, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), and satellite communications enabling communities at
risk to prepare for, and to mitigate the potential damages likely to be caused due to
the natural disasters. Though, there are certain technological challenges
constraining their utilization effectively down the line at community level, a well-knit
technological and institutional frameworks is embarked upon at Department of
Space level to harness the strengthen the national resolve on disaster management.
1. India’s Vulnerability to Natural Disasters
India, characterized by the unique geodynamics with active tectonic plates, typical
monsoon behaviour driven by the less understood global interconnections, flood
prone river basins coexisting with semi-arid and arid regions and long coastlines, is
amongst the nations most vulnerable to natural disasters. Drought, Floods,
Cyclones, Earthquakes, Landslides, Avalanche and Forest Fires have not only been
causing substantial loss of human lives and property, but also reducing the pace of
sustained economic development, often leading to heavy drain of the resources
meant for different developmental programmes.

2. Disaster management efforts have made some dent in reducing the disaster
vulnerability. For example, in pre-independence era, droughts and famines were the
biggest killers in the country. Extension of irrigation networks and food security
measures have greatly reduced deaths caused by droughts and famines. Disasters
like floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and forest fires still continue to
contribute the vulnerability of the country to a very large extent. Administratively, a
three-tier hierarchical organizational set-up is in place connecting Centre, State and
District level functionaries. There are also networks of knowledge institutions
mandated to provide operational scientific and technological inputs.
2. Disaster Management – Policy Focus
The recent natural disasters of rare incidence, but dreadful severity, like the Malpa
Landslide, Orissa Super Cyclone, Bhuj Earthquake, Droughts and Floods, have
brought into focus the critical gaps and inadequacies in the overall disaster
management systems in the country. The lessons learnt from these events
necessitate placing greater emphasis on the collective wisdom of integrating the
state-of-the-art technologies with the administrative and policy frameworks. A High
Power Committee (HPC) constituted by Hon’ble Prime Minister, and subsequently
the Working Group on Disaster Management, have made certain specific
recommendations on space applications to strengthen national response
mechanisms towards disaster management. Some of the highlights include:
• Use of remote sensing data for mapping of vulnerable areas, creation of
digital database and planning mitigation measures;
• Scientific basis of damage assessment;
• Improved forecasts, warning and alert systems using space applications; and
• Establishment of state-of-the-art Control Room with active interface with
National / State level Control Rooms with latest communications and Decision
Support System. These are essentially for developing collectively the
paradigms of disaster prevention, mitigation and reduction.
3. Space Applications - Operational Framework
Information holds the key for disaster management. Space technology has
demonstrated the operational reliance in terms of information gathering through

3. observations, information generation by analyzing remote sensing data in
conjunction with other collateral information, and real time / near real time
information dissemination through ‘last mile’ connectivity. In recent years, space
applications, namely, INSAT based CWDS, DCP, MSS and remote sensing have
graduated from experimental and R&D phases into a reliable operational tool, in
different aspects of disaster management. The recent trends of integrated use of
space, information and modeling technologies have positioned ISRO/DOS in a
vantage place in strengthening the national resolve towards disaster management.
4. Disaster Management Support (DMS) Programme of Department of Space
Taking into account the earlier experiences of ISRO/DOS; working closely with user
agencies in the areas of flood, cyclone, drought, landslide, forest fire etc; and to
arrive at the specific role that ISRO/DOS could play operationally; a proto-type end-
to-end pilot project was conducted addressing flood management needs in the
Brahamputra basin, which helped in defining the in-house Disaster Management
Support (DMS) mechanisms, identifying feasible services and also the overall
programme elements.
The DMS Programme aims at strengthening the institutional capacity towards
disaster management in the country. Towards this, the goals envisaged include:
• Positioning the space, ground and applications segments through an
appropriate organizational framework and programme elements, that could
provide timely information with the available space systems to the disaster
management community, routinely;
• Institutionalization of space applications in terms of addressing the
outstanding issues related to disaster management; and
• ISRO/DOS to transition to the newer role of the operational service provider in
the country towards disaster management.
Conceptually, the DMS systems are built upon organizing the following
elements:
Databases warehousing;
- Technological tools - Remote Sensing, Airborne systems with
optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and laser capabilities;
and other conventional techniques;

4. - Modeling (GIS, stochastic and other simulations);
- Networking solutions - mostly web-enabled services.
The conceived DMS is based on synthesizing theses elements to arrive at the
operational services.
5. Services Envisaged
The programme elements have been arrived at taking into account some of the
services where the role of space applications is critical and operationally feasible.
The services, which could be of the direct inputs, include rapid mapping and event
monitoring within 12 hours of the disaster event (T+12 hrs turn-around time) using
coarse resolution remote sensing data, damage assessment, continuity of satellite
aided search and rescue services. The supportive services are:
• Creation of digital databases at appropriate scale for hazard zonation in
selected perennially disaster-prone areas;
• Development of appropriate Remote Sensing and GIS based decision
support tools and techniques, and demonstrations to cater the information
needs at various levels;
• Proof-of-concept study for agricultural drought; and
• Acquisition of close-contour (<1m) information for selected areas; and
• Strengthen the communications backbone addressing real time / near real
time need.
6. Emergency Resource Centre (ERC)
Department of Space (DOS) is set up satellite-based tele-medicine/ tele-education
networks in some pockets of the remote, inaccessible and backward areas of the
country. It is envisaged that the bandwidth enabling such services could be multi-
tasked to disseminate the community centric services down the line. Emergency
Resource Centre (ERC) is therefore to evolve as community asset enabling them
access to emergency communications (satellite-based systems in conjunction with
terrestrial networks) infrastructures as well as the critical services that hold
considerable significance in perennially disaster prone areas. The concept of ERC is
shown in Fig 1.

5. Fig. 1 Multi-tasking of emergency communication network
The essential services like connectivity (telephone, fax, e-mail, video, data),
dissemination of warning messages, vulnerability status and impending risk
scenario, community empowerment through social safety nets, tele-medicine
support, public education & training etc could be organized on the multi-tasking
mode.
The ERC, based on multi-tasking of telecommunications networks - including the
tele-medicine, envisages the synergy of satellite communications and remote
sensing, vis-à-vis the synergy and convergence of space, terrestrial and other
conventional systems. The emergency communications infrastructures involve
stockpiling and maintaining the systems that include satellite phone, mobile VSAT
with WLL, INSAT MSS, INMARSAT Mini-M, besides making use of terrestrial
systems conjunctively. The services, while disseminating the early warning
messages on impending disasters to the stakeholders, also include tele-medicine,
tele-education/training and other capacity building related services.
Fundamentally, the ERC - to be developed as community resource, aims at
enhancing the indigenous coping mechanisms; and thus community resilience to the
natural disasters and empowering stakeholders.

6. 7. International Charter
ISRO is also a signatory to the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters,
which has its main objective towards efficient use of space technology in disaster
management, through long-term working relationship between the civil protection
community and space agencies. Through the charter, ISRO will become an integral
part of the global efforts on disaster management. ISRO will also gain in terms of
sharing the data from foreign satellites, as well as the expertise in this area. Towards
Charter implementation, ISRO would involve in:
• Formulation of Charter policies and procedures; and
• Execution, monitoring, follow-ups and documentation on major disasters.
8. Institutional Infrastructure
Enabling the proposed operational services calls for substantial capacity building
measures, and towards this, the following infrastructure were found necessary:
• Procurement of necessary systems, software and instrumentations to carry
out the envisaged programme elements;
• Acquisition of Airborne SAR with necessary instrumentations for all-weather
conditions, day or night data acquisition and dissemination;
• Airborne Laser Terrain Mapping (ALTM) with Digital Camera;
• Control Room interfacing with Emergency Control Room at Central and State
levels;
• Stockpiling & Deployment of reliable communication equipment such as
Satellite Mobile Communication Terminals, VSATs, WLL VSATs, CWDS, etc,
for on-site DM support at the time of disaster; and
• R&D support for development and use of newer sensor data in disaster
management related applications
The major institutional capacity building measures envisaged is the
establishment of the Decision Support Centre (DSC) - as a single window service
provider at NRSA, interfacing with National / State disaster management systems
- by re-organizing the infrastructure for the near real time service delivery and the

7. conjunctive use of aerial and satellite services, and supportive R&D efforts. In
fact, DSC is also envisioned to provide the institutionalized outlet for the future
EO missions like RISAT, ResourceSat and Cartosat.