SENTINEL ASIA ANNUALREPORT 2016

Secretariat of Sentinel Asia
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

12

Sentinel Asia
Annual Report 2016
Content

1. Introduction ·············································································· 1
1.1.

Purpose and Scope of the Document ·························································· 1

1.2.

Structure of the Document ········································································ 1

1.3.

List of Acronyms····················································································· 1

2. Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters ················································ 4
2.1.

Outline of Sentinel Asia ············································································ 42.1.1. Background and History of Sentinel Asia ···················································· 4
2.1.2. Aims and Activities of Sentinel Asia in a Nutshell ·········································· 6
2.1.3. Framework and Emergency Observation Mechanisms of Sentinel Asia·············· 6
2.1.4. Current Phase (Step 3) and Ongoing Actions of Sentinel Asia ························· 8
2.2.

Major Disasters in Emergency Observation (2007-2016) ·································· 9

3. Emergency Observation Operation in 2016 ·································· 12
3.1.

Emergency Observation Requests ·····························································123.2.

Results of Emergency Observation ····························································15

3.3.

Good Practice -Flood in 2016 (Sri Lanka)- ···················································18

4. External relations ····································································· 21
4.1.

New Members Accession ········································································21

4.1.1. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) ·············································21
4.1.2. National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) ····22
4.2.

Collaboration and Cooperation with Other Organization ··································24

35. Communication and Conference ················································ 25
5.1.

Conference ··························································································25

5.1.1. Third Joint Project Meeting Team for Sentinel Asia STEP3, Colombo, Sri Lanka,
19-21 Jan 2016 ···················································································25
5.1.2. APRSAF-23, Manila, the Philippine, 15-18 Nov 2016 ···································28
5.2.

Press Releases and Articles ·····································································29

5.2.1. Press Releases and Articles ···································································29
5.2.2. Sentinel Asia 10th Anniversary································································34

6. Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operation······································· 35
6.1.

Overall Impact ······················································································35

6.2.

Analysis of Operational Performance··························································35

7. Conclusions ············································································ 39

Appendix
List of Emergency Observation Request by each country
List of JPT Members

4Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

1. Introduction
1.1. Purpose and Scope of the Document
This document describes the activities of Sentinel Asia (SA) in 2016 for the member
organizations and external relations.

1.2. Structure of the Document
This report is structured according to the following structure:

Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters; Overview and target disaster event of
Sentinel Asia
Chapter 3 - Emergency Observation Operation in 2016; Results of emergency
observation activities in 2016
Chapter 4 - External Relations; Explaining the integration of new members, progress,
external relationships and Cooperating Bodies
Chapter 5 – Communication and Conference; Reports on all communication activities
undertaken throughout the reporting period.
Chapter 6 - Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operations; Providing an assessment of theoverall impact of Sentinel Asia as a service in supporting disaster responses, of system
performance, products and services.
Chapter 7 - Conclusions; Outlines the significant achievements and conclusions
throughout the reporting period.
Chapter 8 - Appendix; Data related to this report

1.3. List of Acronyms
ADPC

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ADRC

Asian Disaster Reduction Center

AIT

Asian Institute of Technology

1Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

APRSAF

Asia-Pacific Region Space Agency Forum

ASEAN

Association of South-East Asian Nations

CRISP

Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing

CSIS/UT

Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo

DAN

Data Analysis Node

DDPM

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (Thailand)

DHM

Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (Nepal)

DMH

Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (Myanmar)

DPN

Data Provider Node

EO

Emergency Observation

EOR

Emergency Observation Request

GISTDA

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency

IDC

International Disaster Charter

ISRO

Indian Space Research Organization

IWMI

International Water Management Institute

JAXA

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

JPT

Joint Project TeamJPTM

Joint Project Team Meeting

KARI

Korea Aerospace Research Institute

LAPAN

National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Indonesia)

MARD

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Vietnam)

MBRSC

Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre

MEC

Myanmar Earthquake Committee

MMAF

Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries ?(Indonesia)

MO

Manila Observatory

MONRE

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Vietnam)

MoWHS(Bhutan) Ministry of Works and Human Settlement

NARL

National Applied Research Laboratories

NCU

Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National Central University

NDMO(Fiji) National Disaster Management Office

NIED

National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience

NSPO

National Space Organization

PAGASA

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration

PHIVOLCS

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology

RRD

Relief and Resettlement Department (Myanmar)

RSO

Regional Support Offices2Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

SA

Sentinel Asia

STI/VAST

Space Technology Institute / Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology

SUPARCOPakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission

UNESCAP

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

UNOCHA

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

UNOOSA

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

UN-SPIDER

United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Managementand Emergency Response3Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

2.

Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

2.1. Outline of Sentinel Asia

2.1.1. Background and History of Sentinel Asia
Natural disasters have been on the rise worldwide, including Asia-Pacific region(Figure 1). The Asia-Pacific region suffers from different types of natural disasters suchas earthquakes, cyclones/typhoons, floods, landslides, droughts, tsunamis, volcanic
eruptions and forest fires. Several of them are of large-scale, devastating disasters.
Given the high level of population (about 3 billion), and the high frequency and calamityfrom natural disasters in the region, the integrated use of space technology, such as
earth observation satellite data and geographic information systems, can be an effectivemeans to reduce the magnitude of the calamity, or as a means of managing large-scale
natural hazards and disasters. In light of increasing frequency of natural disasters andelevated loss of lives and property from these events, SA, a collaborative, regional
project, was conceptualized in 2005 and first began operation in 2007. It is engaged in
activities to share and provide disaster-related information including earth observation
satellite images via the internet to contribute to disaster management in the
Asia-Pacific region. Space agencies of the member countries of the Asia-Pacific Region
Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA), and the disaster risk reduction agencies in the Asia-Pacific region, such as the
Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), cooperate in forming a joint project team
(JPT) and promoting SA. As of July 2016, it consists of 102 member organizations,
including 87 agencies from 26 countries/regions and 15 international organizations.
JAXA has been serving as a secretariat of the JPT.

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Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

600

Note ； Source: CR E D E M-D AT, U niversity Ca tholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belg ium

500

Total
400

300

Asia

200

100

Africa, Americas, Europe, etc.
0
1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

Figure 1 Incidence of natural disasters by region (In and after 1975)

A stepwise approach for implementation of data and information dissemination systemthrough SA as proposed by the APRSAF was as follows:

Step 1: Implementation of the backbone 'Sentinel Asia' data dissemination system andassociated Nodes (Feb. 2006–Dec. 2007)
Step 2: Expansion of the dissemination backbone with new Satellite Communication
Systems (2008–2012)
Step 3: Establishment of a comprehensive ‘Disaster Management Support System’ inthe region (2013 onwards)

The Sentinel Asia initiated an emergency observation request system in 2007 toprovide image data (and analyzed images) acquired through the satellites operated bytheparticipating

space

agencies

on

the

WEB

and

via

JAXA’sWidebandInternet-working engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (WINDS), also known
as Kizuna, in the event of a disaster in the Asia-Pacific region.
During that time, the Sentinel Asia participated in the International Disaster Charter(IDC) in 2010 to expand its activities and cooperation on a global scale. Also, theSentinel Asia established RSO of UN-SPIDER in the ADRC in June 2009, which serves
as a contact (liaison) office for emergency observation requests, to expand the range of5

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016its activities and increase international interest.

2.1.2. Aims and Activities of Sentinel Asia
The SA aims to (i) improve safety in society with the use of modern Information andCommunication Technology (ICT) and space-based technology, (ii) improve speed andaccuracy of disaster preparedness and early warning systems, and (iii) minimize thenumber of victims and social, economic losses. To achieve these goals, various activities
have been undertaken.

Main activities of the SA are summarized as follows:・

Emergency observation by earth observation satellites (e.g. ALOS, FORMOSAT,
IRS, KOMPSAT, THEOS, VNREDSAT and X-SAT) in case of major disasters

・

Acceptance of observation requests of major disasters in the Asia-Pacific region
from ADRC member organizations and representative organizations of JPT
members to support disaster management in the region

・Working Groups (WGs) for early warning and disaster monitoring: WGs on
wildfires, floods, glacial lake outburst floods, and tsunamis are (formed and) in
operation

・Capacity building of member organizations (e.g. through training) for utilization ofsatellite images for disaster management

The following are the main data and products provided by SA to its members (i)satellite imagery (and data permitted by data providers) and value-added images withextraction of stricken areas, etc., (ii) on-site digital camera images (iii) wildfire hotspot
information and data (iv) rainfall (short-term and long-term) information and data, and(v) meteorological satellite imagery and data.

2.1.3. Framework and Emergency Observation Mechanisms of Sentinel Asia
SA is promoted under cooperation among the following three communities (i) Space
Community (APRSAF), (ii) International Community (e.g. UNESCAP, UNOOSA,

6

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

ASEAN, AIT) and, (iii) Disaster Reduction Community (ADRC and its member
countries) as illustrated in the Figure 2. To promote the activities of SA, the Joint
Project Team (JPT) was organized, which is open to all the APRSAF member countries,
disaster prevention organizations and regional/international organizations who wish toparticipate in disaster information sharing activities.

Space Community

Disaster Management
Community

APRSAF*

ADRC**
Member Countries

Sentinel Asia

Data Provision
Promotion of Utilization

Utilization (User)

Capacity Building

Joint Project Team (JPT)** Asian Disaster
Reduction Center* Asian-Pacific Regional
Space Agency ForumUNESCAP UNOOSAASEAN AIT etc.
International Cooperation

International Community
Figure 2 Framework of the Sentinel Asia

SA is composed of two Nodes (Data Provider, and Data Analysis) and four Working
Groups (Wildfire, Flood, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood and Tsunami). The Data Provider
Node (DPN) provides their own satellite imagery and other relevant data to JPT
members upon an Emergency Observation Request (EOR) from a JPT member to theextent permitted by the data policy of each DPN when a disaster occurs, while the Data
Analysis Node (DAN) analyzes the satellite data provided by DPN, makes value added
products and uploads and shares the result through the Sentinel Asia System (Figure 3).
Between 2006 and 2016, about 270 EORs have been made or accepted, providing dataand products to its members to support disaster management. The four WGs work forthe establishment and improvement of early warning/forecasting systems, as well as

7

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

monitoring and planning for disaster management in their respective fields.

Figure 3 Flow of Sentinel Asia emergency observation

2.1.4. Current Phase (Step 3) and Ongoing Actions of Sentinel Asia
Out of three steps employed by Sentinel Asia, Steps 1 and 2 have already been
declared as successfully complete. Step 3 began in 2013 with the definition of priority
areas based on experiences in the earlier Steps and user requests leading to necessary
actions as shown in the Figure 4.

Key features of Step 3 are:・

Covering all phases in disaster management cycle

・

Employing a wide variety of satellites including earth observation satellites,
communication satellites and navigation satellites

・

Being managed as a joint project by participating agencies, through a joint
management system which shall be constructed・

Promoting use of services by expanding human network through capacity
development and outreach activities

8

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Figure 4 Current phase (Step 3) and actions of Sentinel Asia

2.2.

Major Disasters in Emergency Observation (2007-2016)

Figure 5 and Figure 6 present the breakdown of emergency observations with requests
and emergency observations with activation by disaster. Table 1 presents the number ofrequests, activations and rejections for each disaster. Floods represented the largest
number of disasters, with 132 requests (48.9%), followed by earthquakes at 31 (11.5%),
landslides at 21 (7.8%), typhoons at 20 (7.4%), forest fires and fires at 17 (6.3%),
volcanic eruptions at 14 (5.2%), and cyclones at 10 (3.7%).
Generally, activation is made for around 80% to 90% of requests for most disasters, but
the activation rate is 41.2% for forest fires and fires only. The reason for this is believed
to be because forest fires affect a much broader region than other disasters, making it
difficult to obtain accurate information from the disaster-affected areas.

9Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Oil Spill, 4Cyclone, 10

Others,21

Volcano, 14

Forest Fire, 17
Flood, 132
Typhoon, 20

Landslide, 21
Earthquake,
31

Figure 5 Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster (2007 - 2016)*Requests (N=270)

Oil Spill, 2

Others, 13

Cyclone, 9Volcano, 11
Forest Fire, 7Typhoon, 18
Flood, 124

Landslide, 17

Earthquake, 27

Figure 6 Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster (2007 - 2016)*Activations (N=228)

10

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Table 1 Number of Requests, Activations, and Rejections for Emergency
Observations by Disaster

Number ofRequestNumber of
Activation

Number of
Rejection

Flood

132

124

8

93.9%

Earthquake

31

27

4

87.1%

Landslide

21

17

4

81.0%

Typhoon

20

18

2

90.0%

Forest Fire

17

7

10

41.2%

Volcano

14

11

3

78.6%

Cyclone

10

9

1

90.0%

Oil Spill

4

2

2

50.0%

Others

21

13

8

61.9%

Total

270

228

42

11

Activation/Request(%)

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

3. Emergency Observation Operation in 2016

3.1.

Emergency Observation Requests (EOR)

Figure 7 presents the number of requests, activations and rejections involving
emergency observations over the past 10 years from 2007 to 2016. The number ofrequests and activations peaked in 2010 and 2011, with the number declining
subsequently thereafter, but the number increased once again from 2015 to 2016. This
correlates to the period from the shutdown of ALOS from April 2011 to the launch of
ALOS 2 in May 2014.

50
43
40
40

36
34

35
31

30

25

24
20
20

10

15

18
16

6

5

19

18

8

Request2524

Activation

20
18

1918

2

1

1

2

2013

2014

2015

2016

Rejection

9
6

2
0
2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Figure 7 Comparison of the Number of Requests, Activations and Rejections for
Emergency

All 2016 activations are listed in Table 2. In total, 36 requests were received in 2016.
The following two requests were rejected due to a failure to keep in contact after therequest was made.
-Activation No. 243, Country [Vietnam], Disaster type [Drought]-

Activation No. 244, Country [Myanmar], Disaster type [Earthquake]

Figure 8 and Figure 9 present the breakdown of emergency observations with requests
and emergency observations with activation by disaster. On a request basis, floods
12Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

represented the largest number of disasters, with 12 requests (33.3%), followed byearthquakes at 5 (13.9%), landslides at 3 (8.3%), typhoons at 4 (11.1%), forest fires andfires at 1 (2.8%), volcanic eruptions at 1 (2.8%), cyclones at 4 (11.1%) and oil spill at 1
(2.8%).

13

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Table 2 List of 2016 Activations
Activation
NumberCountry

Disaster Type

Activation
Date

235

TaiwanEarthquakeFeb-16NARL

236

MyanmarFlood

Feb-16

DMH

237

Fiji

CycloneFeb-16NDMO

238

Indonesia

Flood

Mar-16LAPAN

239

Indonesia

Flood

Mar-16

LAPAN

240

TaiwanOil spillApr-16

NARL

Requester

241

Philippines

Forest Fire

Apr-16

University of

242

PakistanLandslideApr-16SUPARCO

245

PakistanLandslideApr-16SUPARCO

246

Japan

Earthquake

Apr-16ADRC

247

Sri Lanka

Flood

May-16

IWMI

248

Indonesia

Volcanic Eruption

May-16LAPAN

249

Bangladesh

CycloneMay-16SPARSSO

250

Indonesia

Landslide, FloodJun-16LAPAN

the Philippines

251

Nepal

Flood, etc

Jul-16

Department of Hydrology

252

TaiwanTyphoonJul-16NARL

253

Bangladesh

Flood

Aug-16SPARSSO254

BhutanFlood

Aug-16MOWHS(BT)255

MyanmarFlood

Aug-16

RRD

and Meteorology

256

Laos

Flash Flood

Aug-16

UNESCAP / Ministry of

257

India

Flood

Aug-16

IWMI

258

MyanmarEarthquakeAug-16

MEC

259

TaiwanTyphoonSep-16NARL

260

Philippines

Tropical cyclone

Sep-16PHIVOLCS

261

Indonesia

LandslideSep-16LAPAN

262

Indonesia

Flash Flood

Sep-16

LAPAN

263

TaiwanTyphoonSep-16

NARL

264

VietnamFlood

Oct-16

MONRE

265

Philippines

TyphoonOct-16PAGASA

266

VietnamFlood

Nov-16MARD, DMC(Vietnam)

267

Indonesia

Earthquake

Dec-16

LAPAN

268

India

CycloneDec-16

ISRO

Science and Technology

269

Nepal

Flash Flood

Dec-16

Department of Hydrology

270

Philippines

Other

Dec-16PHIVOLCS

14

and Meteorology, Nepal

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Others, 5

Oil Spill, 1

Flood, 12
Cyclone, 4Volcano, 1
Forest Fire, 1Typhoon, 4Earthquake, 5Landslide, 3

Figure 8 Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster *Requests in 2016

Oil Spill, 1

Others, 4

Flood, 12
Cyclone, 4Volcano, 1
Forest Fire, 1Typhoon, 4Earthquake, 4Landslide, 3

Figure 9 Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster *Activations in 2016

3.2.

Results of Emergency Observation

During 2016, the monthly average of activations was 2.8. Figure 10 shows the monthly
distribution of activations throughout 2016. The highest number of activations occurredin April, August, and September corresponding to 47% of the total number. The
remaining months of 2016 saw the number of activations vary from 0 to 4. Most of theactivations in August and September were caused by water disasters such as floods and15

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

typhoons.

7

Number of Activations

6
6
5

5

5
4
4
3

3

3
2

2

2

2
1

1

1
0
0

Month

Figure 10 Number of monthly activations in 2016

Figure 11 presents the number of emergency observations by country. Countries andregions with a large number of requests are mostly located in Southeast Asia, includingIndonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Myanmar.

Number of Activation

8

7

7
6
5
4
3

5
4
3
2

2

2

2

2

2
1

1

1

1

1

1
0

Country

Figure 11 Number of activations by country in 2016

Figure 12 presents the number of implementations by DPN. In total, 81 were
implemented in 2016, satellite data was provided to the requestors. The highest number
16

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016of implementations occupied by JAXA, ISRO and GISTDA corresponded to 86 % of thetotal number.
30

Number of Implementation

26
25

23

21
20
15
10

8

5

3
0

0

0
JAXA

ISRO

KARI

GISTDA

NARL

CRISP

STI/VAST

DPN

Figure 12 Number of responses by DPN in 2016

Figure 13 presents the number of optical and radar data by DPN. In 2016, a total of
2,317 were provided by DPN members. The breakdown of this total is archive data at
256 and new acquisition data at 2,061. GISTDA, NARL, JAXA and ISRO account for the
majority of the data.

1400
1182

Number of Scenes

1200
1000
800
600
400
200

430
306
179

117
0

0 0

0

ISRO

KARI

GISTDA

77

0 0

0 26

CRISP

STI/VAST

0
JAXA

NARL

DPN
Archive

New Acquisition

Figure 13 Data consumption (Archive and New Acquisition) by DPN in 201617

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Figure 14 presents the number of implementations by DAN. In total, 51 were
implemented in 2016, with archive data and analyzed products provided to therequestors. The ranks for the highest number of implementations were occupied by AIT
and JAXA, corresponding to 69% of the total number.

Number of Implementation

20

18

17

15

10
5
5

4

3

2

1

1

NARL

LAPAN

0
AIT

JAXA

UT

YU

IDC

IWMI

DAN

Figure 14 Number of responses by DAN in 2016

3.3. Good Practice Flood in 2016 (Sri Lanka)Following the devastating floods and landslides in May 2016, SA received (andaccepted) EOR from IWMI, Colombo. Below is a brief description of the event and a good
example of our collaborative work (data and information sharing) to support the Sri
Lankan Government’s efforts for disaster management.
On 15 May 2016, Sri Lanka was hit hard by a powerful tropical storm that caused
widespread floods and landslides in 22 of the 25 districts in the country, destroying
hundreds of homes and submerging entire villages (UNOCHA, 26 May 2016). At least
104 people were known to have died and 99 people were missing, the majority due to alandslide in Aranayake, Kegalle District, which destroyed three villages. An estimated
301,602 people had been affected by the disaster, including at least 21,484 people who
were displaced from their homes.
18Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

In response, SA provided a large number of satellite images and map products: at least
three pre-disaster and 122 post-disaster images, and 40 analyzed products. Figure 16
and Figure 17 show such an example of the satellite imagery and analyzed products
provided.

Figure 15 Flooding in May 2016 (Photograph credit: DMC)

Figure 16 A part of a post-disaster satellite image(Terra SAR-X taken on 19 May 2016) depicting possible flood areas (in red)19

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Figure 17 Map product depicting possible flood areas (in blue)

The DMC and IWMI officers said that the data and map products had been very
useful for/during rescue and recovery operations, assessing the damaged areas, andadvocacy to donors for assistance.

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Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

4. External relations

4.1. New Members Accession
In 2016, the following six organizations joined SA.
-

Ministry of Works and Human Settlement (MoWHS), Bhutan [JPT]-Survey for Seismic Protection (SSP), Ministry of Territorial Administration andEmergency Situation, Armenia [JPT]-

Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), Nepal [JPT]-Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) [DAN]-

National Disaster Centre, Papua New Guinea [JPT]-National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED),

Japan [JPT]4.1.1. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)(1) Outline of organization
Asian

DisasterPreparedness

Center(ADPC)

isan

independent regional non-profit organization that works tobuild the resilience of people and institutions to disasters
and the impact of climate change in Asia and the Pacific.
Established in 1986 as a technical capacity building center, ADPC has grown anddiversified its expertise across social and physical sciences to support sustainable
solutions for risk reduction and risk management across a broad range of specialist
areas. (Source: ADPC HP)(2) Greeting from the Executive Director
Disasters indiscriminately affect all demographic groups
in all parts of the globe. Given the rapid economic growth –much of which is not disaster-resilient – as well as its
exposuretodestructivehydro-meteorologicalandgeological phenomena, such as floods, earthquakes, andtropical storms, Asia and the Pacific is highly vulnerable.

21

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Damage and loss of lives caused by disasters can disrupt national economies and stallsocial development if countries are not well prepared.
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) promotes evidence-based solutions fordisaster risk management. Space-based earth observation technology, as it is becoming
more accessible, increasingly plays a major role in providing information needed fordisaster risk management. Prior to a disaster, national disaster management
organizations can use satellite images and data to understand the disaster and climate
risks their countries face. As a disaster event happens, timely and up-to-date
information on the disaster help practitioners understand the situation they are facing,guidingthem to make informed decisions. Undertaking post-disaster

needs

assessments is faster and more accurate when guided and supplemented by remotesensing data, making recovery efforts more effective.
ADPC, as an active Data Analysis Node member of Sentinel Asia, would bring its
experience that has been accumulated through working closely with governments toensure that “useable space-based information” is made available to stakeholders in Asiaand the Pacific. Our in-house experts including GIS and remote sensing specialists
would stand ready to support Sentinel Asia and countries in preparing for andresponding to disasters through space-based earth observation technology, while
enhancing their technical capacity sustainably.

Hans Guttman
Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)

4.1.2. National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED)(1) Outline of organization
National Research Institute for Earth Scienceand Disaster Resilience (NIED) aims to protect
people's lives and properties from natural
disasters and to prepare society to be resilient to natural disasters, through research on
disasters caused by earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, landslides, meteorological changes,
snow and ice damages. (Source: NIED HP)

22

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

(2) Greeting from the person in charge
I have been committed to promote the application of
space-based technology, data and information products todisaster risk reduction operations through Sentinel Asia
from its launching stage.

The damage assessment

information of affected areas is very critical for earlystage response operations through the effective allocationof rescue resources. I believe Sentinel Asia is a verypractical tool for the disaster management organizations in Asia and the Pacific bysupporting their information based and knowledge based operations.
After its launch, Sentinel Asia has been evolving and expanding its operations. Now in
Step 3, its operational coverage includes all disaster management phases, including
emergency response, rehabilitation, recovery and preparedness. The system increased
its capacity for strategic operations with the Steering Committee and they organized
three Steering Committee meetings to discuss the Strategic Plan 2017-2027, which will
be reported in the Joint Project Team Meeting in Taipei 2018.
One of the important aspects of the Strategic Plan is to enhance the initiatives of theparticipating organizations to promote their committed initiatives and projects for
Sentinel Asia. Some of the participating organizations will be identified as leading
agencies. In the Step 3 phase of Sentinel Asia, it is tasked to be more committed to the
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and to promote morecommunication and collaboration with international and regional organizations anddonors.
It is a great honor to serve as a Co-Chair of the Sentinel Asia Steering Committee toadvance its operations for disaster risk reduction in Asia and the Pacific.

Koji Suzuki,
Co-Chair, Steering Committee of Sentinel Asia
Executive Director, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience23

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

4.2. Collaboration and Cooperation with Other Organizations
The rollout to IDC began in February 2010 as necessary.
In 2016, ten disasters were escalated to Charter. Excluding escalations via otherinstitutions, six disasters were escalated through SA. There was one response to an
earthquake in Taiwan, one response to a flood in Sri Lanka, one response each to avolcanic eruption and earthquake in Indonesia, and two responses to a cyclone and floodin Bangladesh.

Table 3 List of Charter Escalation in 2016
Activation
NumberCountry

Disaster Type

Activation
Date

235

TaiwanEarthquakeFeb-16

NARL

247

Sri Lanka

Flood

May-16

IWMI

248

Indonesia

Volcanic Eruption

May-16LAPAN

249

Bangladesh

CycloneMay-16SPARSSO

253

Bangladesh

Flood

Aug-16SPARSSO

257

India

Flood

Aug-16IWMI

Not escalation via Sentinel Asia

262

Indonesia

Flash Flood

Sep-16LAPAN

Not escalation via Sentinel Asia

265

Philippines

TyphoonOct-16PAGASA

Not escalation via Sentinel Asia

267

Indonesia

Earthquake

Dec-16

LAPAN

268

India

CycloneDec-16

ISRO

24

Requester

Remarks column

Not escalation via Sentinel Asia

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

5. Communication and Conference
5.1.

Conference

5.1.1. Third Joint Project Meeting Team for Sentinel Asia STEP3, Colombo, Sri Lanka,
19-21 Jan 2016

Date: 19 - 21 January 2016
Venue: Mt. Lavinia Hotel
Number of Participants: 70

Inauguration Ceremony(1) Major

General

L.B.R

Mark,

Director General DMC(2) Remark by Mr. Peter G. McCornick, Deputy Director General IWMI
(3) Remarks by Mr. Michio Ito, Executive Secretariat Sentinel Asia, JAXA
(4) Address by Mr. S.S. Miyanawala, Secretary of Ministry of Disaster Management(5) Key note speech by Dr. Lal Samarakoon, GIC/AIT
He talked about potential and opportunities of the use of space-based technologies
for DRR to prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disasters, andto increase preparedness for response and recovery and thus to strengthen
resilience. In addition, he also mentioned about IDC, Copernicus and Sentinel Asia
related to space technology for emergency.
Session 1: Status Report(1) Adoption of agenda introduced by Dr. Giriraj, IWMI, and it is agreed byparticipants.
(2) Overview of Sentinel Asia status: Mr. Michio Ito, JAXA
(3) Dr. Abdul Muhari, MMAF introduced his self as new member of SA.
(4) Overview of emergency observation: Mr. Makoto Ikeda, ADRC
(5) Data provider Node (DPN) report
・Mr. Bo Chen from Narlab mentioned about contribution of FORMOSAT to SA
activities since 2010:

・

Dr. Pham Viet Hoa, STI, VAST, also mentioned about contribution of VNREDSat-1

25

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

to SA activities and UNESCAP.
(6) Primary Data Analysis Node (P-DAN) report
・

Dr. Jagath Rajapaksha, GIC/AIT・

Dr. Masahiko Nagai, UT, Japan,(7) Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) - 22 Report, Mt Masanabu
Tsuji, JAXA
Session 2: Sentinel Asia Step 3 Evolution Progress Report(1) Secretariat report on Sentinel Asia Step 3 progress report: Mr. Takeshi Chiba, JAXA
(2) Term of reference (TOR) of Steering Committee: Ms. Rio Tanabe, JAXA
Session 3: Local Hosts Special Session(1) Coordinated by DMC & IWMI・

Mr. Srimal Samasiri introduced geospatial information as a decision tool in Sri
Lanka though Disaster Management Centre.

・

Vladimir Smakhtin, Theme Leader-water availability, Risk and Resilience・

Eng. S. P. C. Sugesshwara, Chief Engineer (RM&DM), Irrigation Department

・

Suranga, DRM Expert, World Bank.

・Open Discussion

・

Last remark by Mayor General L.B.R. Mark, Director General DMC

Session 4: EOR Activities(1) Emergency observation request activities report since JPTM2014 (6 events)
・

Mr Yuji Takada mentioned about overview observation and explained about someexamples of analysis results of EO in some disaster-affected areas.

・

Dr. Giriraj Amarnath, IWMI explained about IWMI activities in 2015

・

Mr. Sha Mohamma Mizanur, SPARRSO, provided a brief overview of the
Bangladesh Space Agency and also mentioned about the disaster situation in
Bangladesh.

・

Mr. Suwarsono, LAPAN, briefly provided an overview about the Indonesia space
agency (LAPAN) and the role of LAPAN in the field of remote sensing in Indonesia.

・

Ms. Ma Flordeliza P. DelCastillo, MO, mentioned about the disaster situation in thePhilippines, an area mostly concerned with storm disasters and about Manila
Observatory activities.

26

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

・

Mr. Than Zaw, DHM, mentioned about challenges faced by Myanmar on its river
forecasting system and also mentioned about some activities for disaster mitigation
in Myanmar.

Session 5: Project Management(1) Sentinel Asia System Operation, WINDS/Regional Server: Mr. Yuji Takada
explained about Sentinel Asia system including data transfer way and speed up ofdata transfer and also explain access procedure to use SA system.
(2) Member reports
・

Ms. Vinany Semgtianthrs, MONRE

・

Mr. Li-Yu Chang, NCU

・Mr. Prasong Thammapala, DDPM

(3) Others
・

New concept of regional Cooperation in Asia for water disaster management
applying satellite precipitation measurement: Mr. Yusuke Muraki, JAXA

Session 6: Mitigation and Preparation(1) Capacity Development Activities
・

Sentinel Asia mini project report: Dr. Lal Samarkoon reported about mini project
conducted by AIT sponsored by JAXA in regard to capacity building in terms ofdisaster management(2) Sentinel Asia Success Story Project: Ms. Rio Tanabe presented a Sentinel Asia
success story in the Philippines in 2015 regarding activities implemented for thelandslide warning system.
Session 7: Working Group(1) Strategy of working group activities: Mr. Michio Ito, JAXA
(2) Water related disaster working group: represented by Dr. Giriraj Amarnath, IWMI
(3) Wildfire Working Group: Dr. Koji Nakau, JAXA
(4) Tsunami Working Group: Dr. Abdul Muhari, MMAF
Session 8: Emergency Response (IP sec4.3)(1) Emergency observation and response procedures: Mr. Makoto Ikeda explained about
new format applied to emergency and response procedures, and good examples of
EoR requests made by IWMI.

27

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

(2) Overview of enforcement of DAN’s activities
・A system to enhance the DAN’s DRR activities: Dr. Jagath Rajapaksha explained
new system of PDAN and DAN.

5.1.2. APRSAF-23, Manila, the Philippine, 15-18 Nov 2016

Date: 15 - 16 November 2016
Venue: Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
Number of Participants: 263

APRSAF Activities
i. SAFE Initiative Workshop
ii. Kibo-ABC Initiative Workshop
iii. New Cooperation Session
iv. Water Rocket Event and Can Satellite Competition
v. Poster Contest
vi. 8th Multi-GNSS Asia (MGA) Conferencevii. APRSAF-23 Exhibition

Discussion on SA(1) Summary Report・

Acknowledged a 10 year celebration of the Sentinel Asia initiative starting fromAPRSAF-12 (Kitakyushu, Japan) in 2005 with a joint project team since December
2006.

・

With 102 organizations, confirm good contributions through 221 activations of28

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

emergency Earth observation satellite operations, contributing to disastermitigation and capacity development for the use of Earth observation satellite datain Asia-Pacific region.
・

Confirm the fruitful progress of an ongoing project (named “Success story project”)
to apply satellite based rainfall data (GSMaP) to landslide warning systems, and tovalidate its utility for local governments of the Philippines in practical operation.

(2) Steering Committee (SC)・

Roll of SC:
The SC is a high-level organization of Sentinel Asia responsible for studying,
discussing and making decisions about various issues of Sentinel Asia.

・

SC members (13):DPN - ISRO, GISTDA, NARL, CRISP, VAST, JAXA,P-DAN - AIT, UT

DMOs - ADRC, PHIVOLCS

Persons who worked for initiation of Sentinel Asia.
CSIRO, Dr. Alexander Held/Director, NIED, Mr. Koji Suzuki/Executive Director,
Rep. of WGs - IWMI, Dr. Giriraj Amarnath Co-Chair, Water Dis WG
・Secretariat of SC: JAXA・

How to work: e-mail, web-conference, physical meeting・

Target:i. To develop a long-term plan of Sentinel Asia, following the first long-term plan
presented at APRSAF-12 in 2005
ii. To develop a short-term plan for the Step 3 phase of Sentinel Asia from theviewpoint of joint drive, end-user-oriented, and strategic management(Recommendation of APRSAF-21)

5.2. Press Releases and Articles
5.2.1. Press Releases and Articles
Secretariat of SA publishes monthly newsletter for member organizations. The
following is topics of the newsletter issued in 2016.

January 2016
1. News and Announcement

29

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

1.1 JPTM2016
1.2 APRSAF-22
1.3 ALOS World Elevation Data
1.4 New User ID and Password for web site of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
1.5 Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
1.6 Call for the update information from JPT Members
2. Capacity Development Activities
2.1 JAXA/AIT Sentinel Asia Mini Project
3. Sentinel Asia System (SAS)
3.1 Emergency Observation Request (EOR)

February 2016
1. News and Announcements
1.1 Emergency Observation of Disasters occurred in February 2016
1.2 New Member of Joint Project Team (JPT)
1.3 JPTM2016
1.4 APRSAF-22
1.5 New User ID and Password for web site of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
1.6 Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
1.7 Call for updated information from JPT Members
1.8 Request matters relating to news mail delivery
2. Capacity Development Activities
2.1 JAXA/AIT Sentinel Asia Mini Project
3. Sentinel Asia System (SAS)
3.1 Emergency Observation Request (EOR)

March 2016
1. News and Announcement
1.1 Emergency Observation of Disasters occurred in March 2016
1.2 New Member of Joint Project Team (JPT)
1.3 JPTM2016
1.4 APRSAF-22

30

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

1.5 New User ID and Password for web site of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
1.6 Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
1.7 Call for updated information from JPT Members
1.8 Request matters relating to news mail delivery
2. Capacity Development Activities
2.1 JAXA/AIT Sentinel Asia Mini Project
3. Sentinel Asia System (SAS)
3.1 Emergency Observation Request (EOR)

April 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters occurred in April 2016
2. [Announcement] Password Change: Sentinel Asia Step2 System, 21 June 2016
3. [Announcement] Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
4. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
5. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
6. [Events] APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016/ 1st Announcement
JPTM 2016 at Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 19-21, 2016

May 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters occurred in May 2016
2. [Announcement] Password Change: Sentinel Asia Step2 System, 21 June 2016
3. [Announcement] Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
4. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
5. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
6. [Events] APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016
JPTM 2016 at Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 19-21, 2016

June 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters occurred in June 2016
2. [News] New Member of Joint Project Team (JPT)
3. [News] Report from JPT Member - 7th UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices (RSO) Meeting4. [Announcement] User Password Changed: Sentinel Asia Step2 System

31

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

5. [Announcement] Digest Authentication Password Changed: Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2
System
6. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
7. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
8. [Events] APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016

July 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters occurred in July 2016
2. [News] New Member of Data Analysis Node (DAN)
3. [News] FORMOSAT-2 was Decommissioned after Twelve Years of Service
4. [Announcement] Digest Authentication Password Changed: Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2
System
5. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
6. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
7. [Events] APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016

August 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters occurred in August 2016
2. [News] At Emergency Observation Request (EOR), JAXA is planning to deliver Quick Analysis
ALOS-2 Data on the Observation Day
3. [Announcement] Booklet “Good Practices of Sentinel Asia in past 10 years”
4. [Announcement] SAR Data Analysis Instructional Materials are available on the Sentinel Asia
Website.
5. [Announcement] New Function was added to the “JAXA Realtime Rainfall Watch”
6. [Announcement] Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
7. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
8. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
9. [Events] APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016

September 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurred in September 2016
2. [Report from JPT Members] ADRC Participated in The 6th Annual UN-SPIDER Conference in

32

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

Beijing, China
3. [Announcement] Please Log-in The Central Server of Sentinel Asia before a Disaster4. [Announcement] Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
5. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
6. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
7. [Events] APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016

October 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurred in October 2016
2. [News] New Member of Joint Project Team (JPT)
3. [Announcement] Password Change: Sentinel Asia Step2 System, 21 December 2016
4. [Announcement] Sentinel Asia Server Services Temporally Stopped
5. [Announcement] Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
6. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
7. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
8. [Events] Sentinel Asia 10th Anniversary Event / JPTM2017 at Hanoi, Vietnam, March 7 – 9, 2017
APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016

November 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurred in November 2016
2. [News] New Member of Joint Project Team (JPT)
3. [Announcement] E-mail Address Change: Sentinel Asia Project Office
4. [Announcement] User Password Changed: Sentinel Asia Step2 System
5. [Announcement] Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
6. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
7. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
8. [Events] Asia 10th Anniversary Event / JPTM2017 at Hanoi, Vietnam, March 7 – 9, 2017
APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016

December 2016
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurred in December 2016
2. [News] Sentinel Asia Twitter is Now Open33

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

3. [Message] From New JPT Member
4. [Announcement] Request for Cooperation to “Sentinel Asia Member Questionnaire”
5. [Announcement] Regional Server of Sentinel Asia Step2 System
6. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
7. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
8. [Events] Asia 10th Anniversary Event / JPTM2017 at Hanoi, Vietnam, March 7 – 9, 2017
APRSAF-23 at Manila, Philippines, November 15-18, 2016

5.2.2. Sentinel Asia 10th Anniversary
In commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of SA, the SA secretariat created a booklet
centered on good practices in SA activities so far.

Booklet’s Name: CONTRIBUTION of SPACE TECHNOLOGY for DRR– Sentinel Asia’s 10th Anniversary – Good Practices
Contents:
・

An Overview of Sentinel Asia-

Brief Background and History of Sentinel Asia-

Overview on the Aims and Activities of Sentinel
Asia-

FrameworkandEmergency

Observation

Mechanisms of Sentinel Asia-

Current Phase (Step 3) and Ongoing Actions of
Sentinel Asia

・Good Practices-

Indonesia: Widespread forest fires in 2015-

Myanmar: Heavy rain and floods in June–Aug. 2015-

Philippines: Volcanic eruption on 14 December 2009-

Sri Lanka: Devastating floods in May 2016-

Vietnam: Devastating floods in July/Aug. 2015

・

Greeting Messages-

GeoInformatics Center - Asian Institute of Technology (GIC/AIT)34

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016-

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)-

Center for Spatial Information Science,University of Tokyo (CSIS/UT)-National Space Organization (NSPO)-

Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)

35

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

6. Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operation

6.1. Overall Impact
When natural disasters occur, such as floods, droughts and earthquakes in mainly
Asian areas, ADRC releases information on the phenomena that trigger the disasters
and the damages (http://www.adrc.asia/latest/index.php). In 2016 the total of natural
disasters (excluding drought and snow hazards) collected by ADRC is 78. 34 natural
disasters found in this data were covered by SA (43.6%).

18

Number of Disasters

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
Yemen

Tajikistan

Saudi Arabia

Solomon Islands

Iran

Malaysia

Sri Lanka

Fiji

Laos

Korea

BhutanNepal

Vietnam

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Japan

TaiwanMyanmar

India

Pilippines

China

Indonesia

0Country
Natural Disasters covered by SA

Natural Disasters collected by ADRC

Figure 18 Breakdown by countries of major natural disasters collected by ADRC
in 2016. In blue the ones covered by SA.

6.2. Analysis of Operational Performance
Figure 19 summarizes the number of days from disaster occurrence to request for eachdisaster and year. Overall, this shows it took a couple of days from disaster occurrence
to request for the period between 2011 and 2016.

36

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

4

Number of Days

3

2.7

2.7
2.4

2

2.1

2.1

1.6
1

0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Figure 19 Number of Days Required from Disaster Occurrence to Request

Figure 20 presents the number of days required from the date the request is received
to activation. Overall, it took an average of 0.8 days from request to activation for theperiod between 2011 and 2016.

Number of Days

3

2
1.5
1

0.9

0.8
0.5

0.4

0.4

0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Figure 20 Number of Days Required from Request to Activation

Figure 21 to Figure 23 present the average number of days required to provide eachdata for each year and the percentage of completed data provisions. Figure 21’s Archive
Satellite Data indicated the percentage of provisions declined from 2015, totaling 61.8%
in 2016, while the average number of days required for provision was 5.3 days. Figure37

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

2’s Satellite Data after Disaster showed the percentage of provisions increased sharply
from 2014 onward, while the number of days required for data provision has declined inrecent years. Figure 21’s products were only provided in 73.5% of the cases in 2016.

8.0
100.0

5.3
4.8

60.0

4.0
2.9

40.0

2.7

Number of Days

Percentage

6.0

5.9

80.0

2.0

2.0
20.0
0.0

0.0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percentage of Provided (Provided/Total)
Required average day for provide

Figure 21 Average Number of Days Required to Provide Archive Satellite Data andResponse Rate for Each Year

12.0
100

Percentage

80

10.0
8.8
8.0

60
40

6.0
4.0

3.4

3.4

20

4.0

Number of Days

9.8
9.0

2.0

0

0.0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percentage of Provided (Provided/Total)
Required average day for provide

Figure 22 Average Number of Days Required to Provide Satellite Data after
Disaster and Activation Rate for Each Year38

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

30.0
25.9

25.0

Percentage

80
60

20.7

20.0

18.0
15.7

15.0

40

10.0

Number of Days

100

7.8
20

5.5

0

5.0
0.0

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percentage of Provided (Provided/Total)
Required average day for provide

Figure 23 Average Number of Days Required to Provide Products and Activation
Rate for Each Year

39

Sentinel Asia Annual Report 2016

7. Conclusions

In 2016 SA celebrated its 10th anniversary. Since the start of 2007, we have conductedemergency observation activities of 270 natural disasters. This year, six organizations
joined SA. The number of participating institutions in this activity has reached 102 now.

It is necessary to steadily advance the following recommendations discussed at
APRSAF in the Philippines toward the future development of SA.
・

Encourage the establishment of a system for rapid observation and sharing ofanalyzed information;

・Promote capacity development of disaster management using space technology;

・Support the utilization of the Philippine success story project to practical operationin the Philippines and encourage the sharing of successful results and knowledge;

・

Encourage continuous active discussions in the Sentinel Asia Steering Committee
towards sustainable and autonomous operation of Sentinel Asia;

40