Satellites Guide Relief to Earthquake Victims - 地球科學討論

Satellites Guide Relief to Earthquake Victims

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/18jun_servir.htm?list23810


June 19, 2009: On Thursday, May 28th, at 2:24 a.m. local time, a deadly
earthquake rocked Honduras, killing seven people and injuring several
others, demolishing homes, damaging scores of other buildings, and sending
terrified residents running through the streets.

"I woke up immediately, and all I could do was hug my youngest son and
pray," says Dalia Martinez of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. "After a few
minutes, my family and I went outside, where my neighbors were already
gathered, likewise terrified about what happened but grateful we were all
okay. Since then, we've been sleeping with flashlights and telephones
within reach, because the aftershocks have been strong."

Fortunately for Martinez and other shaken residents, disaster officials
knew exactly where to send help. A state-of-the-art Earth observation
system called SERVIR1 directed them to the hardest hit areas.

Meaning "to serve" in Spanish, SERVIR is a joint effort of NASA, CATHALAC2,
the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Regional Center for the
Mapping of Resources for Development, and other partners. The system uses
satellite imagery to zero in on places where a flood, fire, hurricane, or
earthquake has left destruction in its wake. Team members combine satellite
data with ground observations, and display a near real-time map of crisis
points. At a glance, decision-makers can see the locations of most severe
damage so they can send help in a hurry.

"The Honduras earthquake was a perfect example of SERVIR at its best,"
says Emil Cherrington, Senior Scientist at SERVIR's regional operational
facility at CATHALAC in Panama. "It was like a chain reaction. People from
agencies and organizations in several countries worked together after the
earthquake to pinpoint precise locations where support was needed."

Breaking news stories revealed that the worst infrastructural damage was
restricted, in general, to Honduras and Belize, so the SERVIR team at
CATHALAC began to assemble images and data for a bird's eye view of those
areas. They contacted Stuart Frye of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
and asked him to arrange satellite imagery.

The next day, Frye notified the team that the Taiwanese would image the
hardest hit areas by using their Formosat-2 satellite. In fact, the
Taiwanese were already in action.

Dr. Cheng-Chien Liu of the National Cheng-Kung University of Taiwan
explains: "President Ma Ying-Jeou of Taiwan and his delegation were
visiting Belize the night earthquake struck. As news of the quake spread
across the Pacific, all Taiwanese were shocked and very anxious to confirm
their safety and that of the people who lived in the countries hit."

"We knew the fastest way to capture images of the disaster area would be
to use Formosat-2. So I issued an urgent request for assistance to Dr.
An-Ming Wu, the Deputy General Director of our National Space Organization.
Even though it was the Dragon Boat holiday and all Taiwanese were enjoying
their family reunion, Dr. Wu called the Formosat-2 mission operation team
to rush back to the control center. The three critical images were taken
in record time!"

Dan Irwin, SERVIR Project Director at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center4,
recalls the lightning-fast response: "I was in a bus in Berlin when I
received an email from Dr. Liu telling me they had the images ready to
send. It was early Saturday morning in Panama, but I called and woke Emil
[Cherrington] up anyway to let him know."

"Dr. Liu was the one who lost sleep," says Cherrington. "He stayed up
until 2 a.m. Taiwan time sending the images to our servers at CATHALAC.
The data volume was huge, so the transfer was slow, but he wouldn't go
home until he was sure we received all the images."

The CATHALAC team processed more than 700 individual image fragments. At
1:21 a.m. on Sunday May 31st, they sent Spanish and English versions of
their assessment map to Honduras' national emergency management committee,
the Red Cross, the United Nations Humanitarian Relief Network, and several
other organizations vital to the relief efforts.5 These agencies then were
able to focus their efforts exactly where they were needed.

"People from several different nations worked together to pull this off
quickly and smoothly," says Irwin. "It was a perfect example of why we at
SERVIR say 'we're GEOSS6 in action.'"

GEOSS, short for Global Earth Observation System of Systems, is a concept
in progress to connect and pool several countries' Earth observation tools
and data for the benefit of all. It's no wonder that the organization
chose SERVIR in 2007 as a template--a sort of "poster child" for how to
meet GEOSS goals.

"This is the 24th time7 that disaster response has been provided to
Mesoamerica and the Caribbean regions in the framework of SERVIR, and the
6th event in 2009 alone,” says Cherrington. "We also anticipate a busy
Atlantic Hurricane Season. In fact, that season is already upon us."

"We’re ready," say Cherrington and Irwin.



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A large portion of this NASA news report was about Formosat-2 and NCKU.

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