SENTINEL ASIA
ANNUAL REPORT 2020

Sentinel Asia
Annual Report 2020
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····················································································· 2

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·············· 7
2.1.4. Current Phase (Step 3) and Ongoing Actions of Sentinel Asia ························· 8
2.2.

Major Disasters in Emergency Observation (2007-2020) ·································10

3. Emergency Observation Operations in 2020 ································ 12
3.1.

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

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

3.3.

Good Practices ·····················································································19

3.3.1. Flood in Indonesia (February 2020) ························································19
3.3.2. Flood in Indonesia (July 2020) ·······························································21
3.3.3. Explosion in Lebanon (August 2020) ·······················································23
3.3.4. Flood in Cambodia (October 2020) ·························································25
3.3.5. Earthquake in Turkey (October 2020) ······················································27

4. External Relations ···································································· 29
4.1.

Accession of New Members ·····································································29

4.1.1. Research Center for Urban Safety and Security (RCUSS) at Kobe University ····29
4.1.2. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) ·····································29
4.2.

Collaboration and Cooperation··································································30

4.2.1. International Disaster Charter ·································································30

5. Conferences and Releases ························································ 31
5.1.

Conferences·························································································31

5.1.1. Steering Committee Meeting of Sentinel Asia (India) ····································31
5.2.

Documents, Press Releases and Papers·····················································32

5.2.1Statement by the Executive Secretary of Sentinel Asia ·································32

5.2.2

New Geospatial Analysis Knowledge materials on the Sentinel Asia website provided
by Yamaguchi University, Japan ······························································33

5.2.3

Newsletter ·························································································34

6. Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operations ····································· 37
6.1.

Analysis of Operational Performance··························································37

7. Conclusions ············································································ 41

Appendix-

List of JPT Members-

Emergency Observation Requests (2007 - 2020)-

JPT member report “Sentinel Asia Activity in 2020”

Chapter 1: Introduction

1. Introduction
1.1. Purpose and Scope of the Document
This document describes the activities of Sentinel Asia (SA) in 2020 for member
organizations and external relations.

1.2. Structure of the Document
This report follows the following structure:

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters: overview and target disaster events
related to Sentinel Asia
Chapter 3 Emergency Observation Operations in 2020: results of emergency
observation activities in 2020
Chapter 4 External Relations: explains the integration of new members, progress,
external relationships and Cooperating Bodies
Chapter 5 Conference and Releases: reports on all communication activities
undertaken throughout the reporting period
Chapter 6 Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operations: provides an assessment of theoverall impact of Sentinel Asia as a service in supporting disaster response, and ofsystem performance, products and services.
Chapter 7 Conclusions: outlines significant achievements and conclusions throughout
the reporting period.

1Chapter 1: Introduction

1.3. List of Acronyms
ADPC

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ADRC

Asian Disaster Reduction Center

AFAD

Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency in Turkey

AHA Center

ASEAN

Coordinating

Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster

Management
AIT

Asian Institute of Technology

ALOS

Advanced Land Observing Satellite

APRSAF

Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency ForumARMOR

ASEAN Risk Monitor and Disaster Management Review

ASEAN

Association of South-East Asian Nations

CAIAG

Central-Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences

CRISP

Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing

DAN

Data Analysis Node

DMH

Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Myanmar

DPN

Data Provider Node

EOC

Earth Observatory of Singapore

EOR

Emergency Observation Request

GAR

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction

GISTDA

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency

ICIMODInternational Center for Integrated Mountain Development

ICT

Information and Communication Technology

IDC

International Disaster Charter

IRS

Indian Remote Sensing Satellite

ISRO

Indian Space Research Organization

IWMI

International Water Management Institute

JAXA

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

JICA

Japan International Cooperation Agency

JPTM

Joint Project Team Meeting

KARI

Korea Aerospace Research Institute

LAPAN

National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Indonesia)

MBRSC

Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre

MO

Manila Observatory

NARLabs

National Applied Research Laboratories

NIED

National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience2Chapter 1: Introduction

NSPO

National Space Organization

RSO

Regional Support Offices

SA

Sentinel Asia

SAWG

Space Applications Working GroupSEUWGSpace Environment Utilization Working Group

SEWG

Space Education Working Group

SPC

Secretariat of the Pacific Community

STWG

Space Technology Working Group

UNDRR

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

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 Response

VAP

Value Added Product

VIGMR

Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources

WINDS

Wideband Internetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite

3Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

2.

Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

2.1. Outline of Sentinel Asia

2.1.1. Background and History of Sentinel Asia
Natural hazards have been on the rise worldwide, including the Asia-Pacific region(Figure 1). The Asia-Pacific region suffers from different types of natural hazards, suchas earthquakes, cyclones/typhoons, floods, landslides, droughts, tsunamis, volcanic
eruptions and forest fires. Several of them are large-scale, devastating disasters. Given
the high population level (about 3 billion) as well as the high frequency and severity ofnatural hazards in the region, an integrated use of space technology, such as earth
observation satellite data and geographic information systems, can be an effective means
to reduce the magnitude of the severity, or provide timely management in the event of alarge-scale natural hazard or disaster. In light of the increasing frequency of natural
hazards and an elevated loss of lives and properties from these events, SA, acollaborative, regional project, was conceptualized in 2005, and began to operate in 2007.
It is engaged in activities to share and provide disaster-related information, including
earth observation satellite images via the internet, in order to contribute toward disastermanagement in the Asia-Pacific region. Space agencies from the member countries of the
Asia-Pacific Region Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), including the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA), and disaster risk reduction agencies in the Asia-Pacificregion, such as the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), cooperate in forming a
Joint Project Team (JPT) and promoting SA. As of December 2020, it consists of 111member organizations, including 94 agencies from 28 countries/regions, and 17
international organizations. JAXA has been serving as a secretariat of the JPT.

4

Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

550

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Flood

Storm

Earthquake

Wildfire

EpidemicLandslide

Volcanic activity

Extreme temperature

Drought

Mass Movement

Insect infestation

Figure 1: Incidence of Natural Hazards by Region (in and after 1990)

A stepwise approach for the implementation of data and information dissemination
systems through 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’ in theregion (2013 onwards)

Sentinel Asia initiated an emergency observation request system in 2007 to provide
image data (and analyzed images) acquired through the satellites operated byparticipating space agencies on the internet and via JAXA’s Wideband Internetworking
engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (WINDS), also known as Kizuna, in theevent of a disaster in the Asia-Pacific region.
During that time, Sentinel Asia participated in the International Disaster Charter(IDC) in 2010 to expand its activities and cooperation on a global scale. Sentinel Asia

5

Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

also established the Regional Support Office (RSO) for the United Nations Platform forSpace-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER) at the ADRC in June 2009, which serves as a contact (liaison) office for
emergency observation requests, to expand the range of its activities and increaseinternational interest.

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

The main activities of the SA are summarized as follows:・

Emergency observation by earth observation satellites (e.g. ALOS-2, FORMOSAT-5,
RESOURCESAT-2, OCEANSAT-2/OCM, IMS-1, CARTOSAT-1&2, RISAT-1, THEOS,VNREDSAT, TeLEOS-1, DUBAISAT-2, and KHALIFASAT) in the event of majordisasters

・

Acceptance of observation requests for major disasters in the Asia-Pacific region
from ADRC member organizations and the 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 the utilizationof satellite images for disaster management

The following is an overview of the main data and products provided by SA to its
members: (i) satellite imagery (and data permitted by data providers) and value-added
images with an extraction of the affected area, 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.

6

Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

2.1.3. Framework and Emergency Observation Mechanisms of Sentinel Asia
SA is promoted under cooperation among the following three communities: (i) the Space
Community (APRSAF); (ii) the International Community (e.g., UNESCAP, UNOOSA,ASEAN, AIT); and (iii) the Disaster Reduction Community (ADRC and its member
countries), as illustrated in Figure 2. The JPT was established to promote the activities
of SA, and it is open to all APRSAF member countries, disaster prevention organizations
and regional/international organizations who wish to participate in disaster information
sharing activities.

Figure 2: Framework of 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 a value-added
product and uploads and shares the result through the new Sentinel Asia EOR system
7

Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters“OPTEMIS”, which started operation in 2019 (Figure 3). Between 2006 and 2020, about
389 EORs have been made or accepted, providing data and products to its members to
support disaster management. The four WGs work toward the establishment andimprovement of early warning/forecasting systems, as well as monitoring and planningfor 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 the 3 Steps employed by Sentinel Asia, the successful completion of Steps 1 and2 has so far been declared. Step 3 began in 2013, defining its priority areas based on
experiences in the earlier Steps and user requests leading to necessary actions as shownin Figure 4.

8

Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

The key features of Step 3 are:・

Covering all phases in a 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 the planned
construction of a joint management system

・Promoting the use of services by expanding human networks through capacity
development and outreach activities

Figure 4: Current Phase (Step 3) and Actions of Sentinel Asia

9

Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

2.2.

Major Disasters with Emergency Observation (2007-2020)

Figures 5 and 6 show a breakdown of emergency observations with requests andemergency observations with activation by disaster. Table 1 shows the number ofrequests, activations, and rejections for each disaster. Floods represent the largest
number of disasters with 189 requests (48.6%), followed by earthquakes at 52 (13.4%),
landslides at 27 (6.9%), typhoons at 34 (8.7%), forest fires and fires at 18 (4.6%), volcanic
eruptions at 19 (4.9%), and cyclones at 21 (5.4%). Generally, activation is made foraround 88% of requests for most disasters.

Oil Spill, 5

Others, 24

Cyclone, 21
Volcano, 19
Forest Fire, 18
Flood, 189

Typhoon, 34

Landslide, 27
Earthquake, 52

Figure 5: Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster (2007 - 2020)*Requests (N=389)

10

Chapter 2: Sentinel Asia and Major Disasters

Others, 17
Oil Spill, 3

Cyclone, 20

Volcano, 16
Forest Fire, 8
Flood, 177

Typhoon, 32
Landslide, 22

Earthquake, 47

Figure 6: Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster (2007 - 2020)*Activations (N=342)

Table 1: Number of Requests, Activations, and Rejections for Emergency
Observations by Disaster (2007 - 2020)
Number of Reques t

Number of Acti va ti on Number of Rejecti on

Acti va ti on/Request
(%)

Flood

189

177

12

93.7%

Earthquake

52

47

5

90.4%

Landslide

27

22

5

81.5%

Typhoon / Storm

34

32

2

94.1%

Forest Fire

18

8

10

44.4%

Volcano

19

16

3

84.2%

Cyclone

21

20

1

95.2%

Oil Spill

5

3

2

60.0%

Others

24

17

7

70.8%

Total

389

342

47

11

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

3. Emergency Observation Operations in 2020

3.1.

Emergency Observation Requests

Figure 7 shows the number of requests, activations and rejections involving emergency
observations from 2007 to 2020. The number of requests and activations peaked in 2010
and 2011, with the number declining subsequently thereafter, but the number increased
once again from 2015 to 2016. The number has begun decreasing gradually once moresince 2016.

50
43
40
40
36
34

35

32
31

31

31
30

30

28
25

24

25
24

28
Request25

Activation
20
20
15

18
16

19

18

10

8

19
18

Rejection

9

6

5

20
18

6

2

2

1

1

2014

2015

3

2

1

1

2017

2018

0
2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2016

2019

2020

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

Figures 8 and 9 show a breakdown of emergency observations with requests andemergency observations with activation by disaster. On a request basis, floods
represented the largest number of disasters, with 13 requests (46.4%), followed bycyclones at 6 (21.4%), and typhoons at 4 (14.3%).

12

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

Table 2: List of 2020 Activations
Activation
NumberCountry

Disaster Type

Implementation

Requester

362

Indonesia

Flood2020/1/1

AHA Center, BNPB

363

Philippines

Volcanic Eruption

2020/1/13

PHIVOLCS

364

Iran

Flood

2020/1/20

UNSCAP

365

TurkeyEarthquake

2020/1/25

AFAD

366

Indonesia

Flood2020/2/25

JICA, PUPR

367

Vanuatu

Cyclone2020/4/7

SPC, NDMO(Vanuatu)

368

Indonesia

Flood2020/5/9

AHA Center, BNPB

369

India

Cyclone2020/5/18

ISRO, DMS

370

Bangladesh

Cyclone2020/5/18

IWMI, DMD (Bangladesh)

371

India

Cyclone2020/6/3

ISRO, DMS

372

Japan

Flood

2020/7/6

ADRC, MLIT

373

India

Flood

2020/7/13

ISRO

374

India

Flood

2020/7/13

ISRO

375

Indonesia

Flood2020/7/16

LAPAN, BNPB

376

VietnamFlood

2020/7/22

MONRE

377

LebanonIndustrial Accident

2020/8/8

AFAD (Turkey)

378

Philippines

Earthquake

2020/8/19

PHIVOLCS

379

Japan

Typhoon2020/9/4

ADRC, MLIT

380

VietnamFlood

2020/9/17

MONRE

381

VietnamFlood

2020/10/7

MONRE

382

VietnamFlood

2020/10/27

MONRE

383

Cambodia

Flood

2020/10/30

AHA Center, NCDM

384

Philippines

Typhoon2020/11/1

AHA Center, NDRRMC, PHIVOLCS

385

TurkeyEarthquake

2020/11/2

ADRC, AFAD

386

Philippines

Typhoon2020/11/12

MO, PHIVOLCS

387

VietnamTyphoon2020/11/13

MONRE

388

India

Cyclone2020/11/24

ISRO

389

Sri Lanka

Cyclone2020/12/2

DMC

13Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

Cyclone, 6

Flood, 13

Volcano, 1
Typhoon, 4Landslide, 0Earthquake (orTsunami), 3

Figure 8: Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster *Requests in 2020
*Requests (N=28)

Cyclone, 6Volcano, 1

Flood, 13
Typhoon, 4Landslide, 0Earthquake (orTsunami), 3

Figure 9: Breakdown of Emergency Observations by Disaster *Activations in
2020*Activations (N=28)

14

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

3.2.

Results of Emergency Observations

During 2020, the monthly average of activations was 2.1. Figure 10 shows the monthly
distribution of activations throughout 2020. The highest number of activations occurredin July and November, corresponding to 35.7% of the total number.

6

5

5

5

4

Number of Activations

4

3

3

3

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

0
0
January

February

March

April

May

June

July

AugustSeptember OctoberNovember December

Figure 10: Number of Monthly Activations in 2020

Figure 11 shows the number of emergency observations by country. Countries andregions with a large number of requests are mostly located in Southeast Asia, including
the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. Countries with the highest number ofactivations were India and Vietnam, at 5 activations each.

15Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

6

5

5

Number of Activation

4

4

4

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

Iran

VanuatuBangladesh

LebanonCambodia

Sri Lanka

0
India

VietnamIndonesia

Philippines

TurkeyJapan

Figure 11: Number of Activations by Country in 2020

Figure 12 shows the number of implementations by DPN. In total, 73 implementations
were made in 2020, and satellite data was provided to the requesters.
30
25

Number of Implementation

25
21
20

14

15

10

8

5

3

2
0

0
JAXA

ISRO

NARL

GISTDA

CRISP

MBRSC

Figure 12: Number of Responses by DPN in 2020

16

STI/VAST

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

DPN has been providing a lot of satellite images, including optical and radar data, whenan EOR is activated. DAN have also been supportive by providing Value Added Products(VAP), including KMZ files and shapefiles for GIS. This data is uploaded to OPTEMIS
and the SA website (https://sentinel-asia.org/index.html). Figure 13 shows the numberof optical and radar data by DPN which were uploaded to the SA website.

150
133

113

Number of Scenes

100
88
79

46

50

13
7

4

0
JAXA

ISRO

GISTDA

NARL

CRISP

STI/VAST

MBRSC

DPN
Archive

New Acquisition

Figure 13: Data Consumption (Archive and New Acquisition) by DPN in 202017

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

Figure 14 shows the number of implementations by DAN in 2020. In total, 83 were
implemented, and VAP were provided to requesters. Figure 15 shows the number ofprovided VAP in 2020.

25
22
20

15

13

12

12

10
7
5

3

3

3

3

2

1

1

1

LAPAN

CU

PHIVOLCS

0
AIT

MBRSC

EOS

WFP

JAXA

ISRO

MO

YU

ICIMOD

RIKEN

Figure 14: Number of responses by DAN in 2020

81
80
66
60

40
25
20
10

10

10
4

4

4

3

2

1

1

MO

YU

ICIMOD

RIKEN

LAPAN

CU

PHIVOLCS

0
AIT

MBRSC

EOS

WFP

JAXA

ISRO

Figure 15: Number of VAP by DAN in 202018

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

3.3. Good Practices

3.3.1. Flood in Indonesia (February 2020)[EOR Requester] Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)[SA website URL] https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2020/article20200225ID.html

Indonesia is located in a disaster-prone area, and being susceptible for various types ofnatural hazards, it can be considered as a kind of “laboratory of disasters” due to its
geographical, geological and demographic condition. Indonesia is situated in the “Pacific
Ring of Fire”, an area located between three tectonic plates (Indo-Australia, Eurasianand Pacific) encircling the Pacific Ocean where frequent earthquakes and volcanic
activity result from the movements of said tectonic plates. In particular, floods due toheavy rain have been occurring every year across all Indonesian islands.
A massive flood hit parts of Jakarta and provinces in Indonesia on 24 February 2020.
According to the report by UNOCHA, the death toll from the flooding and landslides
caused by the heavy rain reached 9 and more than 222,000 residents suffered from theinundation. Focusing on the Jakarta area and West Java, over 80,000 residents took
refuge on drier grounds and over 85,000 residents were affected. The Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) decided to send an EOR related to the disasterthrough their strong network of JICA branch offices in Indonesia and the Ministry of
Public Works and Housing (PUPR) in Indonesia.
The ADRC received the EOR from JICA and transferred a DPN/DAN on the 25th ofFebruary. The first satellite images from the DPN were provided on the 28th of February,
3 days after the occurrence of the disaster. Finally, 27 satellite images were provided by
GISTDA, JAXA, and ISRO, and the first VAP from the DAN was provided on the 28th ofFebruary. 5 VAPs were provided by RIKEN and AIT. This valuable information was
utilized to outline the situation in the affected area.
This EOR case demonstrated good utilization of the JICA network for providing
information updates as the situation unfolded, as well as detailing the needs of the local
sector. When disasters occur, JPT members and ADRC countries sometimes may not beable to manage the preparation of an EOR due to emergency operations in the affected
area. Therefore, JICA’s existing network is expected to support the provision of an EOR
19

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

on behalf of other organizations during Sentinel Asia’s next activity.

Figure 16: VAP (provided by AIT)

(UNOCHA: https://reliefweb.int/report/indonesia/asia-and-pacific-weekly-regionalhumanitarian-snapshot-25-february-02-march-2020)(UNOCHA:

https://reliefweb.int/report/indonesia/indonesia-floods-and-landslides-update-bnpb-bmkg-media-echo-daily-flash-27-february)20

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

3.3.2. Flood in Indonesia (July 2020)[EOR Requester] Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN)[SA website URL] https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2020/article20200716ID.html

LAPAN is the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space, established in
November 1963 by former Indonesian president Sukarno, with the aim of facilitating
long-term civilian and military aerospace research. LAPAN has been an active
participant in the activities of Sentinel Asia as one of the major Data Analysis Nodes(DANs) in Indonesia. There are a lot of hazards in Indonesia every year, and LAPAN has
been supportive in issuing an Emergency Observation Request (EOR) when a disasteroccurs in Indonesia, as well as collaborating with disaster management organizations
within Indonesia.
LAPAN confirmed an occurrence of heavy rain which hit the south of Sulawesi inIndonesia during July 2020. LAPAN made the decision to send an EOR, and collaborate
with a national disaster management organization (BNPB) in Indonesia.
The ADRC received the EOR from LAPAN and transferred a DPN/DAN on the 13th of
July. The first satellite images from the DPN were provided on the 17th of July. Finally,
10 satellite images were provided by JAXA, ISRO, NARL, and CRISP. This was the firsttime that satellite images from TeLEOS-1 had been provided by CRISP. The first VAP
from the DAN was provided on the 17th of July. 5 VAPs were provided by JAXA andMBRSC. The EOR was escalated to the International Disaster Charter, and AIT was
appointed Project Manager for the Charter Activation.
LAPAN shared the provided data (satellite images and VAPs) to the national disastermanagement organization (BNPB) in Indonesia, as well as to a local disastermanagement organization in Sulawesi (BPBD) in order to conduct emergency response
activities in the affected area. LAPAN also developed an original analysis map by using
the provided satellite images, and shared it with other agencies.

21

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

Figure 17: VAP (provided by MBRSC)

22

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

3.3.3. Explosion in Lebanon (August 2020)[EOR Requester] Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey (AFAD)[SA website URL] https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2020/article20200808LB.html

Sentinel Asia have received 389 EORs between 2006 and 2020, among which 342 havebeen accepted, for which they provide data and products to members of the requestees
in support of disaster management. An EOR is primarily focused on natural hazards
which hit the Asia and Pacific region, in line with Sentinel Asia activities. However,Sentinel Asia is able to accept an EOR related to a manmade disaster, depending on thesituation and international needs.
A large-scale explosion occurred at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon on
August 4, 2020. The Lebanese government reported that the explosion was caused by alarge amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut, and that it caused atleast 218 deaths and 7,000 cases of injury. The AFAD decided to send an EOR for theincident as an international support activity. The Secretariat of Sentinel Asia discussed
the necessity and significance of this request, and made a confirmation to activate it.
The ADRC received the EOR from the AFAD and transferred a DPN/DAN on the 8th ofAugust, 2020. The first satellite images from the DPN were provided on the 10th ofAugust. Finally, 20 satellite images were provided by GISTDA, JAXA, ISRO, MBRSC,
and NARL. These were the first satellite images contributed by the KhalifaSat from the
MBRSC. The first VAP from the DAN was provided on the 8th of August. Finally, 8 VAPs
were provided by AIT, EOS, and MBRSC.
The AFAD shared the provided data (satellite images and VAPs) to the response
department of the AFAD in order to confirm the estimated damage incurred by thedisaster. Also, the AFAD used the data in considering the provision of emergency relief
supplies to Lebanon.

23

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

Figure 18: VAP (provided by MBRSC)

24

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

3.3.4. Flood in Cambodia (October 2020)[EOR Requester] The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster
Management (AHA Centre)[SA website URL] https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2020/article20201017KH.html

The AHA Centre is an intergovernmental organization established by the ten ASEAN
Member States, with the aim of facilitating cooperation and coordination of disastermanagement amongst ASEAN Member States. The AHA Centre has been an active
participant in the activities of Sentinel Asia. For instance, the AHA Centre participatedin JPTM and made a presentation entitled “Emergency Response and Relief Support in
the Spirit of One ASEAN One Response”, where they shared information about theiractivities. The AHA Centre also makes Emergency Observation Requests (EORs) whendisasters occur in ASEAN countries. These proactive activities and the active sharing of
information have helped Sentinel Asia to promptly respond to such events.
The AHA Center confirmed a flood which hit Cambodia in the middle of October 2020.
The experience and knowledge held by the AHA Center contributed toward the creationof an EOR for this disaster, after a gap of around 9 years since the last disaster in
Cambodia. The AHA Center made the decision to send an EOR, and collaborate with the
National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) in Cambodia.
The ADRC received the EOR from the AHA Centre and transferred a DPN/DAN on the
30th of October. The first satellite images from the DPN were provided on the 2nd of
November. Finally, 29 satellite images were provided by GISTDA, JAXA, ISRO, NARL,
and CRISP. The first VAP from the DAN was provided on the 31st of October. Finally, 8
VAPs were provided by YU, AIT, WFP, and MBRSC. This was the first data contribution
by WFP. JAXA also provided a WEB-GIS system that was unable to confirm the provided
satellite images.
The AHA Centre shared the provided data (satellite images and VAPs) to the National
Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) in Cambodia, as well as local disastermanagement agencies, in order to confirm the current disaster situation in the affected
area. Also, the AHA Centre used the data for making internal reports and documents in
the interest of sharing information.

25

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

Figure 19: VAP (provided by MBRSC)

26

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

3.3.5. Earthquake in Turkey (October 2020)[EOR Requester] Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD)[SA website URL] https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2020/article20201030TR.html

Turkey is located in a high-risk area that is heavily affected by disasters due to its
geological structure, topography and climatic characteristics. Turkey has learned some
bitter lessons from the disasters it has experienced, and has consequently abandoned its
previous crisis management mentality and taken the necessary steps to prioritize risk
management when dealing with disasters.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, an institution working to prevent
disasters and minimize disaster-related damages, plans and coordinates post-disaster
responses, and promotes cooperation among various government agencies. They
introduced a novel disaster management model which prioritizes Turkey's transition
from crisis management to risk management, which came to be known as the Integrated
Disaster Management System. AFAD currently has 81 provincial branches across Turkey,
in addition to 11 search and rescue units. According to its position as the sole authority
on disasters and emergencies, AFAD cooperates with a range of government institutions
and non-governmental organizations depending on the nature and severity of individual
cases.
The AFAD confirmed an earthquake located in the Aegean Sea with a magnitude of 7.0,
which hit the western province of İzmir on October 30, 2020. This tragic earthquake
generated a small tsunami and resulted in 119 casualties. The AFAD was not a JPT
member at the time, but they submitted an EOR to ADRC on the 2nd of November as an
ADRC member country. This response was in line with Sentinel Asia activities.
After that, the ADRC transferred the AFAD’s EOR to DPN/DAN on the 2nd of November.
The first satellite images from the DPN were provided on the same day. Finally, 95
satellite images were provided by GISTDA, JAXA, ISRO, NARL, and MBRSC, and thefirst VAP from the DAN was provided on the 4th of November. Finally, 5 VAPs were
provided by AIT, EOS, and MBRSC.
The AFAD shared the provided data (satellite images and VAPs) to the Response
Department at the AFAD. All remotely sensed data and analysis are used for preliminary
damage estimation, evaluation of the severity of the disaster, and extent of the affected27

Chapter 3: Emergency Observation Operation in 2020

area. Also, the AFAD used provided data to understand the big picture of the disaster forboth emergency relief and preliminary recovery planning.

Figure 20: VAP (provided by AIT)

28

Chapter 4: External Relations

4. External Relations

4.1. Accession of New Members
In 2020, the following three organizations joined SA.
-

Research Center for Urban Safety and Security (RCUSS) at Kobe University-

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)-

National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED)*joined as a new DAN (joined as a JPT member in 2016)

4.1.1. Research Center for Urban Safety and Security (RCUSS) at Kobe University
The Research Center for Urban Safety and Security (RCUSS) at Kobe University inJapan became a Joint Project Team member of Sentinel Asia, as well as a member of
DAN, in April 2020. The RCUSS was established in 1996, about one year after the Great
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The RCUSS’s mission is to make contributions towardbuilding and envisioning a safe and secure urban society, and by conducting researchand education on suitable methodologies and frameworks in realizing such a society.
Regarding their participation in SA, Professor Kenichio KOBAYASHI of the RCUSS
comments, “We are delighted to be a member of Sentinel Asia and are excited to support
our SA colleagues by generating and providing VAPs in upcoming EORs”.

4.1.2. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)The United Nations World Food Programme became a new Joint Project Team memberof Sentinel Asia, as well as a member of DAN, in September 2020. The WFP is the leading
humanitarian organization saving and changing lives, delivering food assistance inemergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.
The WFP’s Emergency Division (EMEG) operates different units active in GIS, Earth
Observation and modeling. The WFP actively supports various emergency relief efforts
around the world with GIS analysis, to assist in logistical planning for food distribution
and humanitarian assistance.

29

Chapter 4: External Relations

4.2. Collaboration and Cooperation

4.2.1

International Disaster Charter

The rollout to IDC began in February 2010 as required. Eight disasters were escalated
through SA in 2020. This figure means that 8 out of 28 EORs, corresponding to 28.6%,
were requested to IDC via Sentinel Asia.

Table 3 List of Charter Escalation in 2020
Acti va ti on
NumberCountry

Disaster TypeActi va ti on
Da teReques ter

Project Manager

362

Indonesia

Flood

1-Jan-20

AHA CENTER, BNPB

AIT

363

Phillipnes

Volcanic Eruption

12-Jan-20

PHIVOLCSPHIVOLCS

370

Bangradesh

Cyclone18-May-20

IWMI, DMD (Bangladesh)

IWMI

372

Japan

Flood

6-Jul-20

ADRC, MLIT

PHIVOLCS

375

Indonesia

Flood

15-Jul-20

LAPAN, BNPB

Yamaguchi University (YMGU)

378

Phillipnes

Earthquake

18-Aug-20

PHIVOLCSPHIVOLCS

384

Phillipnes

Typhoon1-Nov-20

386

Phillipnes

Typhoon12-Nov-20

30

AHA Center, NDRRMC,
PHIVOLCS
MO, PHIVOLCSPHIVOLCS
AITChapter 5: Communication and Conference5.

Conferences and Press Releases

International conferences on space technology and Sentinel Asia’s annual meetings havebeen held every year. However, these conferences were cancelled or postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. For instance, it was decided that due to the pandemic the27th APRSAF and the Joint Project Team Meeting for Sentinel Asia Step3 would bepostponed.

5.1.

Conferences

5.1.1. The 10th Steering Committee meeting of Sentinel Asia
Organizer: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Date: 21-22, January 2020
Venue: Hyderabad, India

The Steering Committee meeting was held in Hyderabad, India, and was hosted by
NRSC/ISRO from the 21st to 22nd of January 2020, in close collaboration with the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and ISRO.
The meeting was conducted in 6 sessions over 2 days, with the main targets being areview of the current status of the Strategic Plan document, improvement of userinteraction from a DPN/DAN viewpoint, strengthening user interaction within the
Sentinel Asia community, reviewing SA Working Groups, and discussing strategies on
the private sector's involvement in Sentinel Asia activities.
Furthermore, there was an emphasis on strengthening Sentinel Asia activities by
incorporating early warning studies and by enhancing capacity building activities, aswell as the need for revamping existing working groups to meet the needs of new disaster
activities across Asia.

31

Chapter 5: Communication and Conference

5.2. Documents, Press Releases and Papers

5.2.1. Statement by the Executive Secretary of Sentinel Asia
Mr. HIRABAYASHI Takeshi, Executive Secretary of the Sentinel Asia Executive
Secretariat, had a statement related to “dual challenges faced during a bout of heavy
rain in July in Japan”. His statement is as follows:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sincere gratitude for your support during the “Heavy rain of July, Reiwa 2” in Japan,
statement of our commitment to Sentinel Asia, and request for your continued support
under the COVID-19 pandemic

For more than several months, we have been faced by unprecedented crises caused by the COVID-19
pandemic. Over the world, more than 10 million people have been infected by COVID-19 and more than
500,000 have perished.

The situation seems to keep deteriorating and the numbers are continuously

growing. This COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way of our lives completely.
A natural disaster amid COVID-19 could be a real nightmare. The local authorities and the people in theaffected area will be forced to address “dual challenges”:

they will have to combat disasters, while keeping

themselves safe from COVID-19. The newly introduced norms such as “social distancing” and “self-seclusion”
for containment of the spread of the virus make rescue and evacuation activities much more difficult thanever before.
Now, the season has come when water-related natural disasters such as typhoons, monsoons, and tropical
cyclones are expected to occur frequently. Particularly, the Asia-Pacific region is prone to such disasters.
Moreover, as this region is the most densely populated region, people in this region are more vulnerable torisks caused by the dual challenges than anywhere else.
However, looking at the bright side, remote-sensing technologies and our cooperation under “Sentinel Asia”
could bring us hope. Satellite observation data provided by Data Provider Nodes (DPNs) of Sentinel Asia
enable us to monitor or narrow down the possible affected area remotely, without visiting the area. Then,damage maps generated from satellite data in combination with open street maps provided by Data Analysis
Nodes (DANs) of Sentinel Asia could contribute to detecting the area more precisely, local authorities’
identifying appropriate evacuation sites and establishing evacuation plans. Also, members of Sentinel Asia
from the international community could appeal to the humanitarian community for solidarity and for support
based on the damage maps and contribute to mobilizing relief parties and supplies effectively under themobility and distancing restrictions imposed by the COVID-19. Furthermore, as Sentinel Asia is mandated
to address the entire disaster risk management cycle including the pre-disaster phase, Sentinel Asia could
contribute to earning the lead time to respond to possible disasters, which has become particularly crucial

32

Chapter 5: Communication and Conference

under the COIVD-19 pandemic.
In fact, now we realize keenly the benefit and blessing of Sentinel Asia. Record-breaking torrential heavy
rain hit the prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima in the southern Japanese island of Kyushu on 4 July
2020. The heavy rain, named “Heavy rain of July, Reiwa 2” triggered floods and landslides, which claimed
at least 68 people’s lives. Many people remain missing and thousands of houses have been destroyed. Whatis different from ordinary disasters is that we have been confronted by the very dual challenges: The COVID19 pandemic has complicated the rescue efforts. The need to maintain social distancing has reduced
capacity at shelters, and the fear of catching and spreading COVID-19 has dissuaded volunteers fromcoming to help who would otherwise offer help.
Thus, the help from Sentinel Asia has been more precious than ever. In this case, immediately after the
emergency observation request (EOR) from JAXA, several DPNs conducted observations, then several
DANs analyzed and provided value-added products. Also, the EOR was escalated to the International
Disaster Charter with the support of Sentinel Asia colleagues and an expert from the Sentinel Asia
community has been supporting as the Project Manager. We are still struggling with the disaster, but wehave been greatly encouraged by the thought and the fact that you, Sentinel Asia colleagues, are with us.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to all of you who have supported us.
As we ourselves have experienced, under this critical situation, Sentinel Asia could not be more helpful andbeneficial than ever before. Sentinel Asia could harmonize disaster response approach with the combat
against COVID-19 and provide solutions for dual challenges. Albeit the devastating circumstances, throughcooperation, we could turn the current adversity into a good opportunity to enhance the value of Sentinel
Asia. Sentinel Asia could be a model cooperation platform in the context of global agenda such as Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Therefore, we, the Sentinel Asia Executive Secretariat will be committed to supporting Sentinel Asia andmake our best to collaborate with DPNs, DANs, and all Joint Project Team members to ensure the normal
operation of Sentinel Asia’s emergency observations. At the same time, as solidarity among Sentinel Asia
members will be pivotal, we kindly request you for your continued support, just as you have supported us.
We believe we can build back better from the crises and we look forward to meeting you again after we haverecovered with resilience.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.2.2. New Geospatial Analysis Knowledge materials on the Sentinel Asia website
provided by Yamaguchi University, Japan
Yamaguchi University provided new technical materials on Geospatial Analysis forcapacity building, for the benefit of the Sentinel Asia community. Regarding theprovision of the materials, Professor Masahiko NAGAI, Director, Center for Researchand Application of Satellite Research Sensing at Yamaguchi University, said, “We would
33

Chapter 5: Communication and Conference

like to introduce and share our E-Learning contents with Sentinel Asia members. These
technical materials are produced by Yamaguchi University as a Geospatial Analysis
Knowledge Portal. We are delighted to contribute to the work done by Sentinel Asia. This
work was supported by the Coordination Funds of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan for Promoting AeroSpace Utilization.”
The materials are available from the Sentinel Asia website: https://sentinel-asia.org/elearning/TechnicalMaterials.html

5.2.3. Newsletter
The secretariat of SA publishes a monthly newsletter for member organizations. The
following are the topics covered by the newsletters issued in 2020.

January 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in December 2019
2. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
3. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
4. [Events]

February 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in January 2020
2. [News] Result of the 10th Steering Committee meeting of Sentinel Asia
3. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
4. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
5. [Events]

March 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in February 2020
2. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
3. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members
4. [Events]

April 202034

Chapter 5: Communication and Conference

1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in March-April 2020
2. [Your input is needed!] Questionnaire on Web-GIS
3. [Events]
4. [Announcement] Emergency Observation Request (EOR)
5. [Announcement] Requests to JPT Members

May 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in May 2020
2. [News] Kobe University joined JPT as a DAN
3. [Announcement] New Geospatial Analysis Knowledge materials by Yamaguchi University
4. Events
5. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
6. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS

June 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in June 2020
2. [Interview] New DAN Member: NIED (TBD)
3. [News] Steering Committee members discussed the present and future of Sentinel Asia
4. Events
5. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
6. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMISJuly 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in July 2020
2. Events
3. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
4. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS

August 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in August 2020
2. [Interview] Mr. KWOH Leong Keong, Director, Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing andProcessing (CRISP), Singapore

35Chapter 5: Communication and Conference

3. Events
4. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
5. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS

September 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in September 2020
2. [Announcement] UN World Food Programme joined JPT as a DAN
3. Events
4. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
5. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS

October 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in October 2020
2. [Message] for the International Disasters Charter’s 20th anniversary
3. Events
4. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
5. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS

November 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in November 2020
2. Events
3. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
4. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS

December 2020
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in December 2020
2. [Interview] Sentinel Asia’s New Member, United Nations World Food Programme(WFP)
3. Events
4. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
5. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS

36

Chapter 6: Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operation

6.

Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operations

6.1. Analysis of Operational Performance
Figure 21 summarizes the number of days from the occurrence of a disaster to therequest for each disaster and their respective years. Overall, this shows that it took anumber of days from the first occurrence of the disaster to a request for the period
between 2011 and 2020.

4

2.7

Number of Days

3

2.7
2.4

2.3

2.0

2
2.1

1.6

2.6

2.1

1
1.3

0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Figure 21: Number of Days Required from Disaster Occurrence to Request

Figure 22 shows the number of days that were required from the date the request is
received to activation. Overall, it took 0.25 days from request to activation in 2020. Thisis an improvement over last year.

37Chapter 6: Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operation

2

Number of Days

1.5

0.9
1.0
0.8

1

0.5
0.4

0.24
0.4

0.25

0.5

0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Figure 22: Number of Days Required from Request to Activation

Figure 23 and Figure 24 indicate the average number of days required to provide eachdata for each year, and the percentage of completed data provisions. Figure 23’s Archive
Satellite Data indicates that the percentage of provisions improved from 2016, totaling
89.3% in 2020. However, the average number of days required rose to 3.3 days from lastyear’s 2.0.

38

Chapter 6: Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operation

8.0
89.3

100.0

Percentage

80.0

100.0

80.0
70.8

90.3

61.8
62.1

60.0

6.0
63.3
3.3

5.9
4.8 5.3

40.0

20.0

4.0

3.9
2.9

2.7

3.6

2.0

Number of Days

100.0

94.4

2.0

2.0

0.0

0.0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Percentage of Provided (Provided/Total)

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Required average day for provide

Figure 23: Average Number of Days Required to Provide Archive Satellite Data
and Response Rate for Each Year
Figure 24’s Satellite Data after Disaster shows that the percentage of provisions
increased sharply from 2014 onward, while the number of days required for data
provision has declined in recent years. The average number of days required for provision
was around 3.3 days over the past 5 years, from 2016 to 2020.

39

Chapter 6: Assessment of Sentinel Asia Operation

12.0
9.8
95.8

84.2

94.1

88.9
80.6

80

93.1
8.8

Percentage

10.0

100

100

93.3

8.0

9.0

60

55.6

6.0
3.7

40

3.3

2.5

4.0

20

3.4

4.0

2.0

3.6

3.4

Number of Days

100

0

0.0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Percentage of Provided (Provided/Total)

2018

2019

2020

Required average day for provide

Figure 24: Average Number of Days Required to Provide Satellite Data After
Disaster and Activation Rate for Each Year
Figure 25’s products were 92.9% in 2020. The average number of days required forprovision was also 4.4 days over the past 5 years, from 2016 to 2020.

30.0
100.0

76.0

25.9
83.3
20.7

58.1

78.9

40.0

73.5

92.9

86.7

15.7

38.9

20.0

15.0

38.9

10.0
3.5

4.8

3.4

7.8

20.0

Number of Days

Percentage

80.0

60.0

25.0

82.8

18.0

5.0
4.7

5.5
0.0

0.0
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Percentage of Provided (Provided/Total)

2017

2018

2019

2020

Required average day for provide

Figure 25: Average Number of Days Required to Provide Products and Activation
Rate for Each Year

40

Chapter 7: Conclusions

7. Conclusions

Since the start of 2007, we have accepted 389 EORs and activated 342. Furthermore, theResearch Center for Urban Safety and Security (RCUSS) at Kobe University and theUnited Nations World Food Programme (WFP) joined SA as new members in 2020.
Sentinel Asia activities were particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic this year,
but by taking advantage of remote sensing technology, Sentinel Asia were able tocontribute their support by providing effective data even in times of disaster. The
following points are conclusive statements based on activities in 2020.

・

In 2020, 28 EORs were submitted and 28 EORs were activated. Around 57% of the
EORs were related to floods and earthquakes.

・The “Number of Days Required from Disaster Occurrence to Request” has greatly
improved from 2.6 days in 2019 to 1.3 days in 2020. This indicates that thesignificance of EOR in supporting disaster response has become more meaningful.

・Eight (8) out of twenty-eight (28) Sentinel Asia activations were escalated to the
IDCs in 2020. This is the highest number in SA’s history. Project managers of these
escalated IDC were nominated from JPT members (e.g., AIT, IWMI, PHIVOLCS,
and Yamaguchi University).

・

The RCUSS and WFP joined SA as new JPT members in 2020. WFP supported
providing data for two EORs: "Flood in Cambodia" and "Typhoon in the Philippines".

・New earth observation satellites from 2 DPNs, TeLEOS-1 of CRISP and KhalifaSatof MBRSC, started providing satellite images in 2020.

・Sentinel Asia made contributions for JPT members during disaster situations
amidst COVID-19 pandemic by taking advantage of the remote sensing technology.

41

blankList of JPT Members(94 organizations from 28 countries/regions and 17 international organizations)
No.

Country / Region

No.

1

Armenia1

Ministry of Emergency Situation (MES)2

CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications (COSSA)

2Australia

3

Geoscience Australia (GA)4

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM)

3

Bangladesh

5

6

4

Bhutan5

Brunei6

Cambodia

China

Sherubtse College, Royal University of Bhutan
Department of Geology and Mines (DGM)10

Ministry of Works and Human Settlement (MoWHS)

11

Survey Department (SD), Ministry of Development

9

Fiji

India

Construction
National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM)
National Disaster Reduction Center of China (NDRCC),
Ministry of Civil Affair
College of Disaster and Emergency Management, Beijing
Normal University (BNU)✔

17

Sichuan University✔

18

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)✔

Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE),
National Disaster Management Office, FIJI (NDMO)

21

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

22

University of Kashmir

23

Gauhati University

26

Symbiosis Institute of Geoinformatics (SIG) , Symbiosis
International University (SIU)
Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space(LAPAN)
Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB)

28

Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani (UNJANI)

30
31

✔

✔

✔

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB)

27

29

✔

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)20

25Indonesia

Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning andInstitute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration (CEA)

24

10

✔

16

19
8

Cultural Affairs

915

Node (DAN)

Department of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home andNational Land Commission

14

Node (DPN)

Organization (SPARRSO)

8

12Data Provider Data Analysis

Bangladesh Space Research and remote Sensing

7

13

7

Organization

Center for Remote Sensing and Ocean Sciences (CReSOS)
Udayana University
Center of Technology for Natural Resources Inventory (PTISDA BPPT)

Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries

✔

✔
✔
✔

11

Japan

32

Keio University

33

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

34

Infrastructure Development Institute (IDI) Japan (IFNet)

35

Hokkaido University

36

Yamaguchi University✔

37

Chubu University✔

38

Chiba University✔

39

Hiroshima Institute of Technology✔

40

Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT)

✔

41
42
43

12

Kazakhstan

13

Korea

14

Kyrgyz15

Lao P.D.R.

16

17

18

Malaysia

Mongolia

Myanmar✔

University
University of Tokyo✔

National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster✔

Resilience (NIED)Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

45

RIKEN

✔

46

Kobe University✔

47

National Center of Space Researches and Technologies (NCSRT)✔

48

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)

49

National Disaster Management Research Institute (NDMI)✔

50

Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences (CAIAG)✔

51

Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare

52

National Security Division, Prime Minister's Department

Malaysian National Space Agency (ANGKASA)
Information And Research Institute Of Meteorology,
Hydrology And Environment (IRIMHE)

56

Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH)

57

Relief and Resettlement Department (RRD)

60
61
62

✔

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)

54
55

✔

Natural Resources and Environment Institute (NREI),

53

59

Nepal

International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku

✔

44

58

19

✔

Myanmar Earthquake Committee (MEC) , Myanmar
Engineering Society (MES)
Survey Department (SD)
Department of Water Induced Disaster Management (DWIDM),
Ministry of Irrigation

Land Management Training Centre
Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), Ministryof Population & Environment✔

20

Pakistan

63

21

Papua New Guinea

64
65
66

67

68
22

Philippines

69

70

71
72
73

23

24

25

Singapore

Sri Lanka

TaiwanThailand✔

(SUPARCO)
National Disaster Centre (NDC)
Office of Civil Defense (OCD), National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Council (NDRRMC)

National Mapping and Resource Information Authority✔

(NAMRIA)
Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM),
Department of Agriculture
Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB), Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical✔

Services Administration (PAGASA)
Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging
Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD)
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology✔

(PHIVOLCS)
Manila Observatory (MO)✔

NOAH Center of the University of the Philippines Resilience✔

Institute

74

Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP)

75

Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS)✔

76

Survey Department of Sri Lanka✔

77

Ministry of Disaster Management

78

National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL)

79

80

26

Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission(GISTDA)
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM)

82

Department of Water Resources (DWR)

83

Royal Forest Department (RFD)84

National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department

85

Royal Irrigation Department (RID)86Land Development Department (LDD)
Andaman Environment and Natural Disaster ResearchCenter, Prince of Songkla University (ANED, PSU)✔
✔

Central University (CSRSR, NCU)
Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency✔

✔
✔

Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National

81

87

✔

✔

✔

✔

27 United Arab Emirates

28

Vietnam88

Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC)

✔

✔

89

Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST)

✔

✔

90

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

91

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)

92

Cartography Department, Ministry of Defense (MOD)93

Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)

94

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)The ASEAN Secretariat

99
100
International(VIGMR)

96

98

29

Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources

95

97

101

Organization✔

✔

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asiaand the Pacific (UNESCAP)
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)International Center for Integrated Mountain Development✔

(ICIMOD)CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications (COSSA)International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management(ICHARM)

102

Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)✔

103

Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC/SOPAC)✔

104

The World Bank (WB)

105

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)✔

106

Asian Development Bank (ADB)✔

107

ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on
disaster management (AHA Centre)

108

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Pakistan

109

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)✔

110

Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)✔

111

UN World Food Programme (WFP)

✔
8

53

as of Dec 2020

1

24

21

15

14

14

13

12

11

10

7

7

6

6

6

5

5

4

4

3

3

3

3

3

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

Japan

Nepal

TaiwanThailandMyanmar

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

China

Bangladesh

Tajikistan

BhutanKazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Mongolia

Australia

Brunei

Cambodia

Lao PDR

Solomon

Malaysia

Korea

Fiji

TurkeyTonga

PNG

New Zealand

Vanuatu

Iran

LebanonUnited Arab Emirates

Afghanistan

388

1

28

India

Total

1

42

Philippine

341

0

1

1

2

2

3

3

3

3

3

4

4

3

5

0

3

4

5

7

10

9

8

12

12

12

15

20

24

24

40

46

52

50

57

RequestVietnam

Activation

Indonesia

47

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

6

3

2

2

0

0

2

4

1

2

2

0

1

0

4

2

6

7

Rejection

-

0.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

60.0

100.0

0.0

50.0

66.7

71.4

100.0

100.0

81.8

66.7

92.3

85.7

85.7

100.0

95.2

100.0

85.7

95.2

88.5

87.7

Number of requested EOR (by year)

20

1

1

1

3

1

2

1

1

2

7

Num.

19

1

1

2

2

1

3

2

2

1

2

2

Num.

24

3

2

1

2

1

6

4

5

Num.

43

2

2

1

1

2

2

1

1

3

2

1

2

1

1

4

1

7

9

Num.

39

1

1

3

1

1

3

2

1

1

1

2

2

2

1

2

4

3

4

2

2

Num.

25

1

1

1

1

3

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

1

4

1

4

Num.

20

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

3

2

3

2

2

Num.

19

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

3

2

1

4

Num.

25

1

2

1

1

2

1

2

2

4

2

1

2

2

2

Num.

36

1

1

1

2

2

1

4

5

2

1

2

4

3

7

Num.

32

1

2

2

1

1

3

2

1

4

12

3

Num.

31

1

1

1

1

1

2

3

2

2

2

3

2

6

4

Num.

28

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

3

3

5

4

2

Num.

28

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

2

5

4

5

4

Num.

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Emergency Observation Requests (2007 - 2020)

Percentage ofActivation

389

1

1

1

1

2

1

2

2

3

3

3

3

3

4

4

5

5

6

6

6

7

7

10

11

12

13

14

14

15

21

24

28

42

52

57

Total

190

1

1

1

2

1

3

4

4

3

2

1

3

4

4

5

2

5

10

8

12

4

13

11

16

11

38

21

Num.

-

100.0

100.0

33.3

66.7

33.3

75.0

100.0

80.0

60.0

33.3

16.7

50.0

57.1

57.1

50.0

18.2

41.7

76.9

57.1

85.7

26.7

61.9

45.8

57.1

26.2

73.1

36.8

(%)

Flood

52

1

2

2

1

1

1

5

2

4

1

2

2

5

1

9

0

13

Num.

-

100.0

66.7

66.7

33.3

16.7

14.3

45.5

16.7

28.6

7.1

13.3

9.5

20.8

3.6

21.4

0.0

22.8

(%)

Earthquake

27

1

1

2

1

2

3

4

1

1

1

2

3

1

4

Num.

-

50.0

33.3

33.3

14.3

20.0

27.3

33.3

7.7

7.1

6.7

9.5

12.5

1.9

7.0

(%)

Landslide

34

1

1

6

1

2

1

13

9

Num.

-

33.3

20.0

40.0

4.8

8.3

3.6

31.0

17.3

(%)

Typhoon

18

1

1

1

3

2

3

1

1

1

1

1

2

Num.

-

33.3

33.3

20.0

50.0

33.3

42.9

9.1

4.8

3.6

2.4

1.9

3.5

(%)

Forest fire

19

1

3

3

12

Num.

-

50.0

12.5

7.1

21.1

(%)

Volcanic
Eruption

19

1

1

2

1

3

2

1

6

2

-

100.0

100.0

100.0

33.3

30.0

15.4

7.1

21.4

4.8

(%)

CycloneNum.

Number of requested EOR (by each disaster)

5

1

1

1

2

Num.

-

20.0

7.1

6.7

3.8

(%)

Oil Spill

24

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

2

3

3

1

5

Num.

-

100.0

33.3

25.0

16.7

33.3

16.7

14.3

8.3

6.7

9.5

10.7

7.1

1.9

8.8

(%)

othersblankJPT member report “Sentinel Asia Activity in 2020”
1

ADPC

Activities related to Sentinel Asia

2

ADRC

Participation for international conferences

3

AHA Center

AHA Centre Disaster Situation Update on the AHA Centre Response inIndonesia, Viet Nam, and The Philippines in 2020

4

Chiba University

Damage assessment of the 2020 Japan Floods

5

CRISP

Providing satellite images of the TeLEOS-1 for EORs in 2020

6DMH

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific7

EOS

EOR Responses and Publications from EOS as a Data Analysis Node8

GIC/AIT

Activities carried out as Principal Data Analysis Node (P-DAN) for Sentinel
Asia

9

GISTDAGISTDA Contribution in supporting Disaster Management

10

ICIMOD-

Mapping floods in Bangladesh caused by Cyclone Amphan to support
humanitarian response-

Streamflow prediction for flood warning and satellite-based inundation
mapping for the HKH region

11

ISRO

Support to Sentinel Asia

12

JAXA

Support from the Sentinel Asia community in response to the “Heavy rain ofJuly, Reiwa 2”

13

JICA

Emergency Observation Request (Flood in Jakarta, Indonesia)

14

LAPAN

Emergency Observation Request

15

MBRSC

Date support of KHALIFSAT for EOR (2020)

16

MO2020 Sentinel Asia Activities of Manila Observatory

17

MONRE

Summary of 2020 results through SA system activation

18

NARL

-

Satellite Imagery Support to Sentinel Asia-

Sentinel Asia JPT-3 Cloud Services

19

RIKEN

Preliminary Flood Mapping Following Torrential Rain in Kumamoto, Japan

20

Tohoku University

Combining News Media and AI to Rapidly Identify Flooded Buildings

21

Udayana

3rd Human resource development and space data utilization for Disaster

University

22

University of Tokyo

R&D on applications of large-scale building mapping and night-time lightobservation for socioeconomic monitoring

23

VIGMR

Multi projects for the Sentinel Asia

24

Yamaguchi

Contribution VAPs for EOR activities

University

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)

Title

Activities related to Sentinel Asia

Type of

OPTEMIS training

Activity
Date

27/11/2020

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is an autonomous international organization that works to build theresilience of people and institutions to disasters and the impacts of climate change in Asia and the Pacific. Establishedin 1986, it provides comprehensive technical services across social and physical sciences to countries in the region
to support sustainable solutions for risk reduction and climate resilience. Since joining in 2014, ADPC has also beenan active member of Sentinel Asia.
ADPC has supported the disaster management activities of the Sentinel Asia community, and notably co-organizedand hosted the last Joint Project Team Meeting in 2019. During the 2020, ADPC have not activated any EOR.
While for 2021, the following are the activities related to Sentinel Asia:


WEB-based training on OPTEMIS, together with GITSDA and DDPM (in February 2021)

Supported DMH of Nepal on the EOR of Flood (in July 2021)

Sentinel Asia Secretariat interviewed Mr. Hans Guttman, the executive director of ADPC (in July 2021)

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)

Title

Participation for international conferences

Type ofInternational Conference

Activity
Date-

1. International Disaster Charter (IDC) Board Meeting (November 11, 2020 (Online))
ADRC participated in the International Disaster Charter (IDC) Board Meeting on 11 November
2020, which was held in an online format. Space agencies from the IDC member countries
participated and gave updates on the latest DRR activity in this virtual meeting. ADRC functions as
a Regional Support Office (RSO) in the IDC framework. When ADRC receives an emergency
observation request for Sentinel Asia, ADRC escalates that request to IDC if asked to do so by theagency making the request. Sentinel Asia targets Asian countries, but the IDC provides worldwide
support in case of a more catastrophic disaster. ADRC has escalated 49 cases to IDC since 2011. At
this conference, ADRC proposed that a more robust network be developed. ADRC would like to be astrong bridge between the space agencies and disaster management organizations.

2. Symposium: Human Resource Development and Space Data Utilization for Disasters (January 92020 (Bali, Indonesia))
The Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) participated in a symposium entitled Human
Resource Development and Space Data Utilization for Disasters, which was organized by
Yamaguchi University and Udayana University on 9 January 2020 in Bali, Indonesia. The
symposium was attended by about 30 participants representing local disaster management
organizations, Tokyo University, the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster
Resilience, and the organizing institutions, Yamaguchi University and Udayana University. ADRC
presented information on Sentinel Asia and the activation of emergency observations. ADRC also
explained how emergency observations are requested during disasters and how to become a memberof the Sentinel Asia program.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on
disaster management (AHA Centre)

Title

AHA Centre Disaster Situation Update on the AHA Centre
Response in Indonesia, Viet Nam, and The Philippines in 2020

Type ofProviding satellite data for disaster emergency situation (e.g.,

Activity

Conference, Workshop, Meeting, Training, EOR, Providing satellite data or VAP)

Date

5/01– 16/11 2020

The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) is an intergovernmental organization which aims to facilitate cooperation and coordination among the ASEAN Member States andwith the United Nations and international organizations for disaster management and emergency response in the ASEAN
region. One of the main responsibilities for the AHA Centre is to conduct disaster monitoring and analysis in the ASEAN
Region. When a significant disaster occurs in one or more of the ASEAN Member States, the AHA Centre carries out
emergency response operations. During these emergency response operations, the AHA Centre issues situation updates
regarding the disaster. In the period of 2020, through the Disaster Monitoring and Analysis (DMA) unit, The AHA Centre
published situation updates for the (1) massive floods in Greater Jakarta Area (Indonesia), (2) Flooding in Central Viet
Nam (Viet Nam), and (3) Super Typhoon Goni in The Philippines. In these three disaster situation updates, mapping andanalyses of the flooded areas from the ARIA-SG team at Earth Observatory Singapore (EOS) and Asian Institute ofTechnology (AIT) through Sentinel ASIA were included. The AHA Centre also utilized the other products of Sentinel
ASIA for internal correspondence.

Sentinel ASIA product on the AHA Centre Disaster Situation Report in 2020

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020
Organization

Chiba University, Japan

Title

Damage assessment of the 2020 Japan Floods

Type of Activity

EOR

Date

07/07/2020

Record-breaking heavy rainfall hit the Kyushu and central regions of Japan from July 3 to 31, 2020. The International
Charter Space and Major Disasters (Charter) and Sentinel Asia was activated for this event on July 7, 2020, in response toa request from the Japanese Government. Many optical and synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite images were provided
through the website. Our group attended the EOR from the same day. We generated the color composites of multipolarizations of SAOCOM-1A images in the whole Kyushu regions, Japan. From those color composite, possible
inundations were observed in Kurume, Hita and Hitoyoshi Cites. Several washed-away bridges in Kuma and Kusu Rivers
were detected by visual interpretation from the color composites of the pre- and post-event Sentinel-1 images. The
inundations in Hitoyoshi City were extracted by a semi-automated method from two temporal SAR intensity images. Dueto a bank collapse and several overflows, wide urban area was flooded by the water from Kuma River. Although the postevent SAR image was taken after the peak of flow, flooded urban area were still detected from the SAR image.

Extraction of the inundations and flooded urban area from the pre- and post-event Sentinel-1 images.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP)National University of Singapore

Title

Providing satellite images of the TeLEOS-1 for EORs in 2020

Type ofSupport for EOR

Activity
Date

July/2020

The Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP) is a research centre of the National University ofSingapore established with funding from the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) of Singapore.
CRISP's mission is to develop an advanced capability in remote sensing to meet the scientific, operational andbusiness requirements of Singapore and the region. TeLEOS-1 is Singapore's first commercial Near Equatorial
Orbit (NEqO) Earth Observation satellite. It is built by ST Electronics (Satellite Systems). TeLEOS-1 was launched
in December 2015 on an Indian PSLV-CA vehicle. Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP)
provided satellite images of the TeLEOS-1 upon a request from JPT members, Sentinel Asia.

-

Flood in Indonesia on 13 July, 2020-

Tropical Storm Noul in Vietnam on 18 September, 2020-

Flood in Cambodia on 17 October, 2020

Satellite Image of TeLEOS-1 (Tropical Storm Noul in Vietnam on 18 September, 2020)

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Satellite Image of TeLEOS-1 (Flood in Cambodia on 17 October, 2020)

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Ministry of Transport andCommunications
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificTitle

The twenty-fourth session of Intergovernmental Consultative Committee(ICC) on the Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable
Development (RESAP)

Type of
Activity
Date

Video Conference via MS Teams

18-19August 2020

The twenty-fourth session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC) on the
Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific(RESAP) was held online on 18-19 August 2020. The Committee reconfirmed its committiment tosupport the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action for Space Applications (2018-2030), referred hereafter as
the Plan of Action, and was informed of the progress of implementation by the RESAP member
countries, which included good practices in supporting response and recovery of COVID-19.
Several partner organizations participated in the meeting as observors and introduced their workthat contributes to the Plan of Action. The Committee discussed and identified the priority needs
and contributions for the implementation of Phase I (2018-2022) and provided details of how
space applications has been able to support action against COVID-19. In this conference, Myanmar
made the presentation on "Use of Space Applications for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in
Myanmar".

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Earth Observatory Singapore (EOS), Nanyang Technological
University

Title

EOR Responses and Publications from EOS as a Data Analysis
NodeType of

EOR and Publication

Activity
Date

2020

As a Data Analysis Node (DAN) in the Sentinel Asia network, the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) has
responded to a total of 11 Emergency Observation Requests (EORs) in 2020. These responses include floods,
typhoons, and earthquakes (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Map of the 11 EORs the Earth Observatory of Singapore has responded to in 2020. A total of 4 interferogram products, 8
Flood Proxy Maps and 9 Damage Proxy Maps were disseminated across these events.

In 2020, we strived to create better Damage Proxy Maps (DPMs) and Flood Proxy Maps (FPMs) using improved
algorithms that detect damage and flood more reliably based on time-series made up of multiple pre-event
scenes, as opposed to a single pre-event scene1, 2. We also focused on creating DPMs, where possible, due to its
uniqueness and positive feedback from users in the past. A catalogue of products produced from our responses
can also be found at: http://ariasg-products.earthobservatory.sg/.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Figure 2: AHA Flash Updates with the Damage Proxy Map created by the EOS team, showing areas (yellow to red, red being more
severe) where building damage has likely occurred in the aftermath of Typhoon Goni.

One notable event where we mapped damage is the Category 5 Typhoon Goni that hit the Philippines on 31st
Oct 2020. Many homes were damaged due to strong winds. Upon activation of the EOR on 2nd Nov 2020, weshared a damage map shortly after, on 3rd Nov 2020. The map indicates possible building damage that likely
occurred in the aftermath of Typhoon Goni (Figure 2). This map was relayed through the Sentinel Asia network
and used by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) for its Flash Updates3. Afterthe typhoon passed, AHA transported much needed emergency supplies from their warehouse in Quezon City
to affected areas and evacuation centres4.
Coming 2021, EOS will be expanding our team with a new EOS Remote Sensing (EOS-RS) Lab. The new teamwill continue to further our work in the Sentinel Asia network, striving towards our mission to provide quality
and rapid remote sensing mapping products useful for disaster response. Updates will be posted on our twitter
page (https://twitter.com/eos_rs/) for interested individuals.

1 Lin, Y. N., Yun, S. H., Bhardwaj, A., & Hill, E. M. (2019). Urban flood detection with Sentinel-1 multi-temporal synthetic aperture radar (SAR)

observations in a Bayesian framework: a case study for Hurricane Matthew. Remote Sensing, 11(15), 1778. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11151778
2 Jung, J., Yun, S. H., Kim, D. J., & Lavalle, M. (2017). Damage-mapping algorithm based on coherence model using multitemporal polarimetric–

interferometric SAR data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 56(3), 1520-1532.
3 Flash update: No. 03 – Super Typhoon Goni, Philippines and Viet Nam – 04 Nov 2020. (2020, November 04). Retrieved October 21, 2021, fromhttps://ahacentre.org/flash-update/flash-update-no-03-super-typhoon-goni-philippines-and-viet-nam-04-nov-2020/
4ASEAN

extends solidarity for typhoon-affected people in the Philippines. (2020, November 14). Retrieved October 21, 2021, fromhttps://ahacentre.org/press-release/aha-centre-response-to-super-typhoon-goni/Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Geoinformatics Center, Asian Institute of Technology

Title

Activities carried out as Principal Data Analysis Node (P-DAN)
for Sentinel Asia

Type of

Value-Added Product Generation for Disaster Activations

Activity
Date

14/07/2020 - 31/03/2021

As the Principal Data Analyses Node (P-DAN) of Sentinel Asia, Geoinformatics Center of the Asian Institute ofTechnology (GIC/AIT) produces Value Added Products (VAP) right after disaster occurrences to support disaster
response activities of the Sentinel Asia Community.
Since July 14th, 2020, GIC-AIT has worked on 17 emergency observations requests until March 31st, 2021, and ninecountries submitted requests in the Asia Pacific region. Most of the requests were sent by Vietnam (5 activations;
29.4%), followed by the Philippines(4 activations; 23.5%) and Indonesia (2 activations; 11.7%). The rest of therequests (35.3%) were submitted by Cambodia, India, Japan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Turkey, each with one
activation request.
Regarding Project Management (PM) activities, The GIC/AIT had undertaken PM activities for two events, including
Flooding in Indonesia (July 16th, 2020) and Flooding in the Philippines (November 15th, 2020).

Cyclone
5%

Other
6%

Earthquake
6%

Flood
30%
Typhoon
47%

Storm
6%
CycloneEarthquake

Flood

Storm

Typhoon

Other

Disaster wise VAP creation by GIC-AIT (2020/07-2021/03)

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency

Title

GISTDA Contribution in supporting Disaster Management

Type ofProvide Satellite Data and Software

Activity(e.g., Conference, Workshop, Meeting, Training, EOR, Providing satellite data or VAP)

Date

2020

GISTDA supported the disaster management activities by
1.

Providing hundreds of satellites images 195 images as following.

2.

Provide OPTEMIS system for making EOR

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development(ICIMOD)

Title

Mapping floods in Bangladesh caused by Cyclone Amphan tosupport humanitarian responseType ofProviding satellite data (Flood inundation map)

Activity

https://www.icimod.org/article/mapping-floods-in-bangladesh-causedby-cyclone-amphan-to-support-humanitarian-response/

Date

27/04/2020

Figure: Flood inundation map on 22 May 2020 for the Cyclone Amphan affected area.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development(ICIMOD)

Title

Streamflow prediction for flood warning and satellite-based
inundation mapping for the HKH region

Type ofProviding satellite data (Flood inundation map)

Activity

https://www.icimod.org/article/streamflow-prediction-for-floodwarning-and-satellite-based-inundation-mapping-for-the-hkh-region/Date

02/08/2020

Figure: Inundated areas in different regions: a. Nepal Terai; b. Bangladesh; c. Assam,
India; d. Bihar, India.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION (ISRO)

Title

Support to Sentinel Asia

Type of Activity

Providing Satellite data as Data Provider Node (DPN)(e.g., Conference, Workshop, Meeting, Training, EOR, Providing satellite data
or VAP)

Date

31/12/2020

During 2020, ISRO has contributed in the Sentinel Asia activities as Data Provider Node and was aregular in all the meetings held during the tenure. ISRO as a DPN has successfully responded tovarious Emergency Observation Requests (EOR’s) pertaining to 10 countries (shown in Fig 1) withthe help of 50 Indian Remote Sensing Series (IRS) satellite datasets comprising of Resourcesat –2/2A and Cartosat series. All these satellite data products were provided in near real-time addressing
various disasters in member countries.
ISRO Support to Sentinel Asis EOR’s during 2020

Fig 1: EOR’s responded during 2020 (Satellite datasets are shown in brackets)Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Support to Lebanon, Industrial Explosion
During 2020, ISRO has activated sentinel Asia towards support to Cyclone “AMPHAN”, “NIVAR’ and“BUREVI” . In addition, SA was also activated for Assam and Bihar floods-2020 and as part of it hasreceived data from ALOS PALSAR-2 and THEOS-1 satellite datasets.
10th Sentinel Asia Steering Committee Meeting:The 10th Steering Committee meeting is hosted by NRSC/ISRO during 21 – 22, January 2020 in
Hyderabad in close collaboration with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and ISRO.
About 17 international Participants from 7 countries namely Sri Lanka, Japan, Singapore, Thailand,
Vietnam,Philippines, and India

have participated in the meeting. Important discussions anddecisions were taken during this SC meeting. Various capacity building programmes are envisaged
during the meeting.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Delegates of 10th Steering Committee MeetingSentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

Title

Support from the Sentinel Asia community in response to the“Heavy rain of July, Reiwa 2”

Type of

EOR

Activity(e.g., Conference, Workshop, Meeting, Training, EOR, Providing satellite data or VAP)

Date

July 2020

While JAXA as DPN member supports almost always EORs from the Sentinel Asia community, JAXA
itself benefits greatly from the Sentinel Asia community as well. From 3 to 4 July, torrential heavy
rains hit the southern island of Japan, “Kyushu region”. The Kuma river in Kumamoto prefecture wasflooded devastatingly. The situation was aggravated, and the almost entire Kyushu region got affected.
On 6 July 2020, upon request from disaster management authorities, “Ministry of Land, Information,
Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and upon subsequent consultation from JAXA, ADRC made an
emergency observation request (EOR) to Sentinel Asia. Following the request, DPN members – ISRO,JAXA, NSPO/NARLabs - conducted emergency observation with their respective satellites. The
satellite data were provided to DAN members via Sentinel Asia’s system, OPTEMIS, developed by
GISTDA. Then, DAN members, such as, the Asian Institute of Technology, Chiba University,
Earth Observatory of Singapore, MBRSC, RIKEN, and Yamaguchi University generated
estimated damage maps out of the provided satellite data. The estimated damage maps were provided
to disaster management authorities.
Also, through ADRC, the EOR has been escalated to the International Disaster Charter, as “Sentinel
Asia Escalation”. In this context as well, an expert from Yamaguchi University supported the call byplaying the role of Project Manager to coordinate space agencies regarding emergency observation
plan and generate estimated damage maps.
We have been greatly encouraged by the thought and the fact that Sentinel Asia colleagues are with us.
On behalf of the Japanese people, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude
to all Sentinel Asia members who have supported us.

support from DPN members

support from DAN members

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Title

Emergency Observation Request (Flood in Jakarta, Indonesia)

Type ofEOR Activity

Activity
Date

February 2020

JICA was established as an independent institution in charge of the administration of Japan’s Official Development
Assistance (ODA). It is one of the largest bilateral international cooperation agencies and promoting human security andquality growth in developing countries. JICA also assists developing countries in building a society that is more disasterresilient than before. JICA joined for Sentinel Asia Joint Team Member in 2019 and started to utilize a space technology
for Disaster Risk Reduction in Sentinel Asia framework.
On 24th February 2020, a rainstorm hit in Jakarta, Indonesia and it caused the massive flooding in the urban area, such as
Jakarta, Karawang and Bekasi Regencies of West Java, and South Tangerang Regency of Banten. The rainstorm lasted until
27th February 2020 (UNOCHA 2020). According to the report by UNOCHA, the death toll from the flooding and landslides
caused by the heavy rain reached 9 and more than 222,000 residents suffered from the inundation. Focusing on the Jakarta
area and West Java, over 80,000 residents took refuge on drier grounds and over 85,000 residents were affected.
EOR was submitted 25th February 2020 by JICA as its first observation request to Sentinel Asia, collaborated with a JICA
Indonesia office and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) in Indonesia. 27 satellite images were provided by
ISRO, JAXA and GISTDA and the analyzed products were shared by ATI and RIKEN. Thanks to the support from JPT
member, a lot of valuable information were provided and they were utilized to inform the situation in the affected area.
(UNOCHA: https://reliefweb.int/report/indonesia/asia-and-pacific-weekly-regional-humanitarian-snapshot-25-february02-march-2020)(UNOCHA: https://reliefweb.int/report/indonesia/indonesia-floods-and-landslides-update-bnpb-bmkg-media-echo-dailyflash-27-february)

One Value-Added Map provided by RIKEN

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

National Institute of Aeronautics and Space of Indonesia(LAPAN)

Title

Emergency Observation Request

Type ofEOR request (Flood in Indonesia)

ActivityDate

7 / 2020

Indonesia is disaster prone county. We have been affected by a lot of disasters ever year. In July 2020, heavy rain
hit in south Sulawesi of Indonesia. It was tragic damage in this region. Therefore, we submitted EOR with BNPB.
Thanks to SA support, we got many useful data. We shared the satellite images and VAP to BNPB as national
disaster management organization, as well as local disaster management organization in Sulawesi (BPBD) for
emergency response activity in affected area. We develop a disaster map by using provided satellite images. Also,
we shared to other agencies for sharing information.

Situation Report (AHA Center)Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC)

Title

Date support of KHALIFSAT for EOR (2020)

Type of

Sharing satellite images for EOR

Activity
Date

2020

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), is a Dubai government organization working on the UAE National
Space Programme, which includes various earth observation satellite projects, the Emirates Mars Mission, the Emirates
Lunar Mission, and the UAE Astronaut Programme. MBRSC launched a new earth observation satellite, named“KHALIFSAT”, in October 2018. KHALIFSAT is one of the world’s most technologically advanced remote sensing
observation satellite – and the first 100% designed and manufactured in the UAE. MBRSC supported to provide satellite
images and VAP as following EORs in 2020.

MBRSC shared satellite images of KHALIFSAT as follow
Industrial Accident (Lebanon), August 2020

Earthquake (Turkey), November 2020

MBRSC shared VAPs as follow
Flood (Japan), July 2020

Flood (India), July 2020

Flood (Indonesia), July 2020

Flood (Vietnam), July 2020Industrial Accident (Lebanon), August 2020

Earthquake (Philippines), August 2020

Flood (Vietnam), September 2020

Flood (Vietnam), October 2020

Flood (Cambodia), October 2020

Flood (Philippines), November 2020

Earthquake (Turkey), November 2020

Typhoon (Philippines), November 2020

Typhoon (Vietnam), November 2020

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Satellite Image of KHALIFSAT [Industrial Accident in Lebanon]

VAP [Industrial Accident in Lebanon]

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020
Organization

Manila Observatory

Title

2020 Sentinel Asia Activities of Manila Observatory

Type of

Submission of EOR and providing value added products

Activity(e.g., Conference, Workshop, Meeting, Training, EOR, Providing satellite data or VAP)

Date

19/10/2021

Please write about your activity related to Sentinel Asia in 2020:
We experienced the Taal Volcano Eruption in January 12, 2020 as well as two major typhoons named Goni
and Vamco in November 1 and November 12, 2020, respectively.
EOR (#386) was submitted.

For the typhoons of November 2020, an

Value-added products for emergency observation/ mapping (EO/ M) were

derived and disseminated, as indicated below.
Value added products production:
HazardProduct Title

Date ofMode of

Releasedistribution

WebsiteTaal
VolcanoEruption(January 12,
2020)

Impacts of Taal
Volcano Phreatic
Eruption (12January 2020) on
the Environment
and Population:
Satellite-based
Observations
compared with
Historical
Records

March 13,
2020

ManilaObservatory’s
website andgeoportal

http://www.observatory.ph/2020/04/20/impacts-oftaal-volcano-phreatic-eruption-12-january-2020-onthe-environment-and-population-satellite-basedobservations-compared-with-historical-records/
http://mapsanddata.observatory.ph/11766/impactsof-taal-volcano-phreatic-eruption/

Typhoon
Rolly(November
1, 2020)

Mapping the
Impacts of
Typhoon Goni in
Albay / Mapping
the Impacts of
Typhoon Goni in
Camarines Sur /Mapping the
Impacts of
Typhoon Goni in
Catanduanes
Mapping the
Impacts of
Typhoon Vamco
in Cagayan andIsabela/Mapping the
Impacts ofNovember
9, 2020

Emailed topartners,
uploaded in
Sentinel Asia
websitehttps://sentinelasia.org/EO/2020/article20201101PH.html

November20, 2020

Emailed topartners,
uploaded in
Sentinel Asia
website,ManilaObservatory

https://sentinelasia.org/EO/2020/article20201111PH.html
http://mapsanddata.observatory.ph/11661/typhoonvamco/
http://www.observatory.ph/

TyphoonVamco(November
12, 2020)

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020
HazardProduct Title

Typhoon Vamco
in Metro Manila
Mappin the
Impacts of
Typhoon Vamco
in Pampanga

Date ofMode of

Releasedistribution

Websitewebsite, andGeoportal

Please put here if you have any photo/image/picture(title of image, picture, etc)

Figure 1. Taal Volcano eruption report in Manila Observatory’s website

Figure 2.

Taal Volcano Eruption Report in Manila Observatory’s Geoportal

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Figure 3.

TC Goni Emergency Observation/ MappingSentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Figure 4.

TC Vamco Emergency Observation/ MappingSentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Department of national remote sensing – VietNam Ministry ofnatural resources and environment

Title

Summary of 2020 results through SA system activation

Type of

EOR

Activity(e.g., Conference, Workshop, Meeting, Training, EOR, Providing satellite data or VAP)

Date

17/09/2020: EOR
07/10/2020: EOR
27/10/2020: EOR
13/11/2020: EOR

Through four activation sessions we have received timely support for satellite observation data as
well as other value-added products. With the processing of satellite data and other supporting
documents, we have provided 43 floods map for agencies to use data to respond to natural disasters
in Vietnam. Details of the duties are listed below.
17/09/2020:
Receive forecast information from Vietnam's hydro-meteorological forecasting agency on the impactof tropical Storm Noul which will cause heavy rain and flooding in central provinces. According to
the disaster response scenario, for typhoon level 10 and level 13, more than 107,000 households withmore than 548,000 people in the central danger zone may be evacuated. This is usually done 12hours before a storm hits. We immediately activated the system to request the support of Sentinel
Asia, Through timely support from data providers and application organizations, we have received
the following satellite image materials and value-added products:+ 02 ALOS-2 pre-disaster scenes and 03 ALOS-2 after-disaster scenes, 02 ALOS-2 PALSAR-2,
RGB color composite image from JAXA
+ 02 TeLEOS-1 after-disaster scenes from CRISP+ 02 THEOS1 after-disaster scenes from GISTDA+ 01 RESOURCESAT-2 after-disaster scenes from ISRO
+ 01 FORMOSAT-5 after-disaster scenes from NARL
+ 02 detected flood water map of AOI and Detected Flood Water in Vietnam in SHP file format from AIT+ 02 detected flood water map of AOI from MBRSC
07/10/2020:
Due to the influence of the tropical converging strip passing through the Central Vietnam combinedwith the cold air, from 6 October to 11 October in the Central provinces, there is a possibility of heavy

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020
rain. The total popular rainfall is 300-500mm / period, particularly the provinces from Ha Tinh to
Quang Ngai have very heavy rain with popular rainfall 500-700mm /period; the North Central
Highlands provinces have moderate rainfall, heavy rain, some places with very heavy rain withpopular rainfall of 200-350mm /period. we have activated the system and received the following
valuable support:+ 08 ALOS-2 pre-disaster scenes and 08 ALOS-2 after-disaster scenes, 02 ALOS-2 PALSAR-2,
RGB color composite image from JAXA
+ 01 RESOURCESAT-2 after-disaster scenes from ISRO
+ 04 THEOS1 after-disaster scenes from GISTDA+ 02 FORMOSAT-5 after-disaster scenes from NARL
+ 02 detected flood water map in QuangNam an Danang province of Vietnam and Detected Flood Water
in Vietnam in SHP file format from AIT+ 01 detected flood water map of AOI in Vietnam As observed by SENTINEL-1 image and 01 detectedlanslides map from MBRSC

27/10/2020:
Molave storm in the west direction, with the speed of 25 km per hour, into the South China Sea. At
1:00 on October 27, the storm center was about 350 km northeast of Song Tu Tay Island to thenortheast, the strongest is to be at 12 (115 to 135 km / h), increasing two levels. On October 28, thestorm center about 240 km from the coast of the provinces from Quang Nam to Phu Yen to the East,
the strongest wind is level 13 (115 to 150 km / h), level 15. We have received the following satellite
image materials and value-added products:+ 01 RESOURCESAT-2 after-disaster scenes from ISRO

13/11/2020:
Due to the influence of storm No. 7 and combined with cold air, in the North and North Central
region, there are heavy to very heavy rains and scattered thunderstorms with a common rainfall of
150-350mm/time, in some places over 400mm/period. There is a high risk of flash floods andlandslides, flooding in low-lying mountainous provinces in the North and North Central regions. wehave activated the system and received the following valuable support:+ 04 ALOS-2 pre-disaster scenes and 08 ALOS-2 after-disaster scenes, 04 ALOS-2 PALSAR-2
from JAXA+ 01 RESOURCESAT-2 after-disaster scenes from ISRO
+ 01 FORMOSAT-5 after-disaster scenes (PAL, MS & PMS) from NARL
+ 01 detected flood water map in Thua Thien - Hue province, Vietnam and Detected Flood Water inSentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020
Vietnam in SHP file format from AIT+ 03 map of Vietnam flood, Vietnam landslides and Vietnam Storrm As observed by SENTINEL-1 image
and data analysis in SHP file format from MBRSC
Figure 1. The analysis results of flooded areas in Quang Nam are shown on the quick monitoring map offlooding in Hoi An city, Quang Nam province, Vietnam (October 11, 2020).

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization
Title
Type of Activity

National Space Organization, National Applied Research Laboratories(NSPO-NARLabs)
Satellite Imagery Support to Sentinel Asia
Responses to EOR (Providing Satellite data as Data Provider Node)

Date
Year of 2020
During 2020, NSPO has contributed to the Sentinel Asia activities as Data Provider Node. NSPO as a
DPN has successfully responded to various Emergency Observation Requests (EOR’s) pertaining to 9
countries and 14 events with FORMOSAT-5 satellite datasets comprising of pre- and post-disasterevents. All these satellite image products were provided right after we acquired cloudless images.
According to the statistics, FORMOSAT-5 satellite image products do support storm and flood relief.
At the same time, it has also given disaster response assistance to Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam manytimes. It’s worth noting that NSPO also provided Value-Added Products to assist stakeholders in the
rescue, which enabled decision makers to understand the extent and scope of the disaster in intuitive
manner.

Fig 1 NSPO Support to Sentinel Asia Emergency Observation Requests during 2020

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization
Title

Sentinel Asia JPT-3 Cloud Services

Type of Activity
Date

Academia Sinica Grid Computing Center (ASGC) and NSPO-NARLabs
Cloud Server Service
Year of 2020

Support Sentinel Asia Emergency Observation (EO) online workflow and the federation of WebGIS,
EO pipeline, data access of DAN and DPN, as well as distributed cloud platform from Feb. 2020, in
collaboration with Sentinel Asia Tech Team. Reliability of the JPT-3 cloud services is higher than
99.9% on average from Feb. 2020. Around 187GB data is downloaded by about 400 accesses from
Sentinel Asia members and applications on a monthly average from Feb. 2020 to Dec. 2020. The total
download data scale has been more than 2.01 Terabyte (TB). Also, NSPO together with Sentinel Asia
Tech Team to review the status of SA services and technical issues monthly. In the future, NSPO will
work with the SA technical team to advance the values of satellite resources on disaster management
and their applications by designing and prototyping spatio-temporal infrastructures such as Open Data
Cube and token-based authentication and authorization infrastructure.

Fig 2 Summary of Sentinel Asia JPT-3 Cloud Services during 2020

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020
Organization

Geoinformatics Unit, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence
Project (AIP)

Title

Preliminary Flood Mapping Following Torrential Rain in
Kumamoto, Japan

Type of

Disaster Emergency Response

Activity(e.g., Emergency activation, Torrential Rain, Flood mapping

Date

06/07/2020

On July 4, 2020, torrential rains hit Kyushu, Japan, triggering floods and landslides. The Geoinformatics Unit, RIKEN
Center for Advanced Intelligence Project conducted a preliminary mapping of the affected areas using ALOS-2 data
provided by JAXA through Sentinel Asia. To detect the flooded areas, we carried out a change detection analysis using a
pre-event SAR data acquired on April 16, 2016, and a post-event SAR data from July 4, 2020. The image below shows
the color composite of ALOS-2 images and the detected flooded areas (blue segments) in Kumamoto, Japan. Visualinterpretation results from aerial photos provided by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan are shown in green
polygons.

Flood mapping product. The color composite of ALOS-2 images and the detected flooded areas (blue segments) inKumamoto, Japan. Visual interpretation results from aerial photos provided by the Geospatial Information Authority ofJapan (GSI) are shown in green polygons.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku
University

Title

Combining News Media and AI to Rapidly Identify Flooded
Buildings

Type of

Research

Activity
Date

21/Nov./2021

Artificial intelligence (AI) has sped up the process of detecting flooded buildings immediately after a large-scale
flood, allowing emergency personnel to direct their efforts efficiently. Our research group has created a machinelearning (ML) model that uses news media photos to identify flooded buildings accurately within 24 hours of thedisaster. The model demonstrates how the rapid reporting of news media can speed up and increase the accuracy ofdamage mapping activities, accelerating disaster relief and response decisions.
ML and deep learning algorithms are tailored to classify objects through image analysis. For AI and ML to beeffective, data is needed to train the model -flood data in the current case. Although flood data can be collected fromprevious events, it will inadvertently lead to problems on account of every event being different and subject to the
local characteristics of the flooded area. Thus, onsite information has higher reliability. News crews and media teams
are often the first on the scene of a disaster to broadcast images to viewers at home, and the research team recognizedthat this information too could be used in AI algorithms. The model is applied to Mabi-town, Kurashiki city inOkayama Prefecture, which was affected by the heavy rains across western Japan in 2018.
First, we identified press photos and geolocated them based on landmarks and other clues appearing in the photo,
then used synthetic aperture radar (SAR) PALSAR-2 images provided by JAXA to discretize flooded and non-flooded
conditions of unknown areas. Here, SAR images can be employed to classify water bodies since microwaves irradiate
differently on wet and dry surfaces. A support vector machine (SVM), one of the machine learning techniques, wasused to classify buildings surrounded by floodwaters or within non-flooded areas.
We found that news information taken within 24 h of a disaster can classify flooded and non-flooded buildings
with about 80% accuracy. The results were also compared with a standard unsupervised learning method andconfirmed that training data generated from news media photographs improves the accuracy obtained fromunsupervised classification methods.

This research was published in the journal “Remote Sensing”.
G. Okada, L. Moya, E. Mas, S. Koshimura, The Potential Role of News Media to Construct a Machine Learning
Based Damage Mapping Framework, Remote Sensing, 13(7), 1401, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13071401

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

The resulted classification shows flooded buildings (red), non-flooded buildings (blue), the learning data from news
media (green) and the flooded area (yellow). About 80% of the estimated flooded buildings were actually flooded
in the event.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Udayana University

Title

3rd Human resource development and space data utilization for
DisasterType of

Workshop

Activity
Date

January 9, 2020

Workshop 3rd Human resource development and space data utilization for Disaster hold on 3rd floor of the
Postgraduate Building, Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali. Thursday, 9 January 2020. This event
aims to present advanced research on disaster management through human resources development
and remote sensing utilization. Internationally we are inviting several acknowledged experts to be
keynote speakers at this event. By inviting our existing and potential partners, we are looking forward
to strengthening and developing existing collaborations and partnerships and exploring a newcooperation form. This event is designed to accommodate intensive discussion based on collaborationinterests. Invitees and Participants attended a total of 50 people, including the following agencies.

1. Director of the Postgraduate Program at Udayana University
2. Head of The Institute for Research and Community Service, Udayana University
3. YUCARS, Yamaguchi University
4. CReSOS Udayana University
5. Head of Institute for Marine Research and Observation (IMRO-KKP)
6. The University of Tokyo
7. National Research Institution for Earth Sciences and Disaster and Resilience (NIED)
8. Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)
9. Bali Provincial Disaster Management Agencies (BPBD)
10. Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG)

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

The University of Tokyo

Title

R&D on applications of large-scale building mapping and nighttime light observation for socioeconomic monitoring

Type of

Research and development for data preparedness

Activity(e.g., Conference, Workshop, Meeting, Training, EOR, Providing satellite data or VAP)

Date

Through the year in 2020

The University of Tokyo proceeded on research and development of 1) large-scale building mapping from satellite
images using deep learning, and 2) socioeconomic monitoring using night-time light observations. The building maps are
expected useful for strengthening disaster preparedness of public agencies and, if the data is openly available, also ofprivate sectors and communities. We developed a pilot system of on-demand automated building mapping from highresolution satellite images of web map services by deep learning techniques. The system demonstrated large-scalebuilding mapping for some cities, such Sri Lanka, Bangkok, and Maputo. We also demonstrated socioeconomic
monitoring from night-time light observation during the COVID-19 crisis, focusing the impact of state of emergency. The
activities will be extended to collaborations with JPT members for applications in practice.

Examples of automated building mapping (left: Bangkok; right: Maputo)

Examples of night-time light observation (left: Bangkok; right: Metro Manila)

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Economic Geology and Geomatics Department, Vietnam
Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources (VIGMR)

Title

Multi projects for the Sentinel Asia

Type of
Activity

Research and collaboration

Date

2020

Introduction: Economic Geology and Geomatics Department belongs to Institute of Geosciences and Mineral
Resources - a basic public research institution under the Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment (MONRE), functioning in conducting R&D, consultancy in the fields of geology and mineral
resources. In 2019, Economic Geology and Geomatics Department has implemented several activities related toSentinel Asia as below:- Implementing project:a. Establishing a multi-hazard and resilience observatory for Hanoi (MROH)” granted by UKRI in
cooperation to BGS.
With the primary goal of the project: building a multi-hazard observatory, the comprehension data
including landslide, soil space, weathering crust, rainfall, river discharge, flood level, v.v … of Hanoi catchment.
The project has carried out technology transfer from the virtual training sessions (BGS) and installation of the
instrusment
The Sentinel Asia data will be calibrated with the in-situ measurements in the future for disastermanagement.

Teros 12 soil moisture sensors

Surface Velocity Radar for Measuring
Open Channel FlowOTT Hydrolab HL4

Phantom 4 RTK system

Compact Weather
Sensors

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Data centre unit XLINK 500

OTT PLS - Pressure Level Sensor

Figure : Sensors and equipment in MROH
b. Collaboration between VIGMR and VLIR-UOS (VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL-VUB)
In the framework of Collaboration between VIGMR and VUB, the project “Building capacity fordisaster management for the mountainous region of Da Bac district, Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam” wasconducted directly by the officials of VIGMR and the project‘s partner in Vietnam is Vietnam National
University (VNU). In addition, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the co-organize VUB and thepartner is KU Leuven (Belgium) must cooperate and operate through the online form.
With the ambitions to establish a network of geo-observers for the mountainous region of Hoa Binh
Province, Vietnam, fieldworks were conducted for identifying and training geo-observers across different
communes of the Da Bac and Mai Chau districts. The geo-observer network of Hoa Binh province wasestablished including 21 members from 7 communes of Da Bac district and 22 members from 8 communes of
Mai Chau district.
In May-2020, The project members undertook UAV flight to monitor 2 deep seated landslides in Tien
Phong commune. Field survey by UAV will be continued to be performed in next months (October or
November, after the rainy season). Additionally, the estimation of economic loss produced by natural hazards
will be done through analysing report of damage produce by each district and through household surveying.
Coupling these data of damage with the characteristics of the landslide will enable to produce an economic risk
map for which the annual average loss for every spatial unit will be calculated.

Field survey in a landslide spot in Da Bac district

Image of a deep landslide in Tien Phong commune
taken by UAV flight.

Training activities: Organize courses on remote sensing and GIS at GIS lab. Besides, improving soft skills forofficials and employees of VIGMR under the project. Organize field trips in areas of the Hanoi catchment, inorder to find places to install observer stations and practice using the Phantom 4 RTK drone system.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Figure : Facilities of GIS lab and the training activity on GIS

c. Establishing GCRF Resilience to Coupled Human-Natural Multi-hazards Network'Alliance For Resilient Urban-SE-Asia (ARUSEA)' is the UKRI GCRF Global Network for Resilience toCoupled Human-Natural Multi-hazards with Headquarters in VIGMR. This is one of twenty networks that bring
together UK researchers with collaborators from across the developing world to tackle global challenges.
The ARUSEA community is co-developing our flagship program that effectively integrate our approach andgenerates sustainable prosperity (https://www.arusea.org/)
Our mission is to create a global community that empowers vulnerable urban residents to escape the poverty
trap by increasing their support system resilience to natural-human hazards.
We manage the disaster risk that hinders the prosperity pathway by addressing the root causes of disaster riskcreation. Unveiling the root causes of disaster risk creation is challenging but doable as we are demonstrating in
our Hanoi and Metro Manila hyper-expanding cities project..
d. Establishing collaboration with local and national stakeholders
To enhance cooperation and exchange of data, results obtained from multi-hazard studies and projects
with the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration and the Vietnam Disaster Management
Authority. Besides, VIGMR also participated in the workshop "Landslide and Debris flow prevention", Nov
25th - 2020. At the workshop, we presented Sentinel Asia, GEN and MROH projects to stakeholders,
universities and institutions. research relationship with emphasis from the UK's GCRF fund, and a
representative from the British Council Vietnam.

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

The workshop at Thuy Loi University on Landslide and Debris flow prevention

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Organization

Center for Research and Application for Satellite Remote
Sensing, Yamaguchi University

Title

Contribution VAPs for EOR activities

Type of

EOR activities

Activity
Date

August 2020

Yamaguchi University, Center for Research and Application of Satellite Remote Sensing, was established in
February 2017. There are 4 missions at this center; (1) to promote world-class research in satellite remotesensing, (2) to cultivate human resources capable of promoting a wide range of research in satellite remotesensing and space technology, (3) to contribute to disaster information analysis and improve public safety andsecurity, and (4) to promote local industry and create new industry/business for space utilization technology.
Yamaguchi university provided VAPs for following EORs in 2020.
-

India: Cyclone, May 2020-

Cambodia: Flood, October 2020-

Philippines: Typhoon GONI, November 2020

India: Cyclone, May 2020

Sentinel Asia Activity Report in 2020

Cambodia: Flood, October 2020

Philippines: Typhoon GONI, November 2020