** August 2020 News from Sentinel Asia Project Office **- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *Topics:
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
3. Events
4. How to send Emergency Observation Request
5. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters Occurring in July/August 2020. (as of 31 August)(1) Flood and Landslide in VietnamVietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment requested Emergency Observation bySentinel Asia for the flood caused by heavy rain in Ha Giang Province in the northern highlandsof Vietnam. Among Data Provider Nodes (DPNs), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) provided their observation data. Among DataAnalysis Nodes (DANs), Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) analyzed the satellite
data and provided their products. The information on the latest response by Sentinel Asia isavailable from the following link.
https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/article20200720VN.html

Product by MBRSC

(2) Explosion in Beirut, Lebanon
On the evening of 4 August 2020, a sequence of two explosions occurred at the port of the city ofBeirut, the capital of Lebanon. The extremely powerful second blast resulted in at least 157
deaths, 5,000 injuries, US$10–15 billion in property damage and an estimated 300,000 people
made homeless. On 8 August 2020, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority ofTurkey (AFAD) via the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) made an Emergency
Observation Request (EOR) to Sentinel Asia. Among Data Provider Nodes (DPNs), ISRO, JAXA,MBRSC, National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL), and Geo-Informatics and SpaceTechnology Development Agency (GISTDA) provided their observation data. What deserves
special mention is that MBRSC provided for the first time their KhalifaSat images which
MBRSC had offered to register as part of Sentinel Asia’s constellation shortly before this EOR.
Among Data Analysis Nodes (DANs), MBRSC, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), and Earth
Observatory of Singapore (EOS) analyzed the satellite data and provided their products. The
information on the latest response by Sentinel Asia is available from the following link.
https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/article20200808LB.html

Product by AIT(3) Earthquake in Philippines
At 00:03 AM (UTC) of 18 Aug 2020 (Tuesday), a strong Magnitude (M) 6.6 earthquake shook
the province of Masbate and vicinity. Using the Philippine Institute of Volcanology andSeismology (PHIVOLCS) seismic network, the epicenter of the earthquake is located 7kilometers South East of Cataingan, Masbate (11.96°N, 124.03°E ) at a depth of 21 kilometers.
As of 1:00 PM, 18 August 2020, 28 aftershocks ranging from M1.6 to M3.8 were recorded (23 ofwhich were plotted, and one was felt). On 19 August 2020, PHIVOLCS made an EOR to Sentinel
Asia. Among Data Provider Nodes (DPNs), ISRO, JAXA and GISTDA provided theirobservation data and NARL planned the observation with Fomosat-5, and Sentinel Asia isexpecting the data.. Among Data Analysis Nodes (DANs), EOS, MBRSC, and AIT analyzed thesatellite data and provided their products. This EOR was escalated to the International Disasters
Charter. PHIVOLCS provided a Project Manager for the Disaster Charter Activation. The
information on the latest response by Sentinel Asia is available from the following link.
https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/article20200818PH.html

Product by Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS)/NASA-JPL/Caltech/ARIA-SG team- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *2. [Interview] Mr. KWOH Leong Keong, Director, Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing andProcessing (CRISP), Singapore:
Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP), National University of Singapore,
one of the longest JPT members, recently announced that the “TeLEOS-1” satellite, which has been
operating under Singapore’s Public-Private Initiative, will contribute to Sentinel Asia. Taking thisopportunity, Sentinel Asia secretariat interviewed one of the long-term contributors to our activities,
Mr. KWOH Leong Keong, Director, CRISP:- Could you tell us about CRISP's and Singapore's recent situation of using EO satellites for
Disaster Risk Reduction?

< Mr. KWOH >We do not have many natural disasters in our country. Singapore is located near the equatorand that is why we are not affected by natural disasters such as Typhoon. We are also far fromthe earthquake and volcano zones. However, we are interested in supporting disasters
management in the countries around Singapore. We would like to help our neighbors out. One
example of disaster we observed was an eruption of Mt. Merapi in Indonesia. One disaster ofconcern to Singapore is the forest fires in Southeast Asia. The haze and PM2.5 created by thefires may travel to Singapore, affecting the air quality and causing economic and healthproblems.
- TeLEOS-1 has been recently registered as part of Sentinel Asia’s constellation.
us about the satellite?

Could you tell

< Mr. KWOH >We do not have a space agency in our country. For our venture into space, our Government’s
approach is to encourage local private companies to fund and build the satellite. TeLEOS-1 isan example of such approach. It was built and launched in 2015 by private sector. Since it isprivate, the satellite is available for us only when they are not using it and we must receive
approval from them to use the data for disaster monitoring. Our government, of course, didfund a portion of the satellite, so they can use the data. As a first step, we hope to contribute toSentinel Asia by capturing images for emergency observation. We will be using ourGovernment’s share of the access to the satellite to service the emergency observation requests.
- Right after CRISP offered to register TELEOS-1 as part of Sentinel Asia constellation, CRISP
provided TELEOS-1 images in response to the Emergency Observation Request regarding floods
in Sulawesi, Indonesia that occurred in July, 2020. Notably, the TELEOS-1 images contributed todetecting estimated inundation areas. Could we ask for your remarks on that?
< Mr. KWOH >We are very happy to be able to use Singapore satellite TeLEOS-1 to successfully image theJuly flood in Sulawesi, Indonesia. This is the first time we are using this satellite to respond tothe EOR. I hope users will find this data useful and I look forward to doing more imaging forSentinel Asia’s EOR in the coming years.
- We assume that the members of Sentinel Asia would appreciate further contribution from CRISPfor disaster monitoring.
< Mr. KWOH >We are happy to contribute more to Sentinel Asia with our satellite. Getting approval to use thedata is the first step. However, I should mention the orbit of TeLEOS-1 is with low inclination

and range is limited within 15 degrees latitude in North and South. Everything has just started,so we hope to provide the community with more images in the future with this approval to use
the Satellite to support Sentinel Asia.
- What does CRISP expect from Sentinel Asia?
< Mr. KWOH >Sentinel Asia has been recognized as a main initiative for disasters response in the Asia-Pacificregion, and I think Sentinel Asia is good program to coordinate satellite imaging of natural
disasters and sharing with affected countries.
As I said, Singapore has been spared from disasters and our interest in disaster management isaligned with the context of the regional collaboration. In this regard, I think Sentinel Asia’s
status as an initiative under APRSAF is quite appropriate.

- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *3. [Events]
Upcoming Events:-APRSAF Online 2020, around October-November 2020 (TBC)- The 8th Joint Project Team Meeting (JPTM) (Date and Place: TBC)

- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *4. How to send Emergency Observation Request
JPT member organizations are entitled to send Emergency Observation Request (EOR) for disasters
in the Asia-Pacific region.
Please refer to https://sentinel-asia.org/e-learning/Emergency_Observation_Request.html

EOR Order Desk:
Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)
HP: http://www.adrc.asia/
E-mail: sarequest@adrc.asia
FAX: +81-78-262-5546,
TEL: +81-78-262-5540- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *5. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMISThe Sentinel Asia launched new operation system, OPTEMIS.
create the account of OPTEMIS.

Please refer to the website how tohttps://sentinel-asia.org/e-learning/Emergency_Observation_Request.html+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+==
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Sentinel Asia Project OfficeSatellite Applications and Operations Center (SAOC)
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