** June 2021 News from Sentinel Asia Project Office **- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *Topics:
1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters
2. Sentinel Asia Webinar on Space Technology for Drought Risk Management to beco-organized by ISRO and IWMI
3. How to Send an Emergency Observation Request
4. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *1. [News] Emergency Observation of Disasters (As of 30 June)(1) Typhoon Choi-wan (Dante) in Philippines
Typhoon Choi-wan (Dante) struck the southern and central Philippines on 2 June
2021. According to the Voice of America (VOA), at least three people died and morethan 2,600 people were displaced, mostly due to floods, in 18 southern villages,
including about 600 villagers who moved to evacuation centers.
(https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/storm-kills-3-displaces-thousands-philippines)
The Manila Observatory (MO) made an Emergency Observation Request (EOR) toSentinel Asia on 2 June. Among Data Provider Nodes (DPNs), the National Applied
Research Laboratories (NARL) provided their observation data. Information on thelatest response by Sentinel Asia is available from the following link:
https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2021/article20210602PH.html

Satellite image (FORMOSAT-5) provided by NARL

(2) Oil spill emergency in Sri Lanka
An oil spill emergency occurred in Sri Lanka on 25 May. BBC News reported that
Sri Lankan authorities were preparing for an oil spill from a sunken container shipafter efforts to tow the vessel into deeper waters failed. The ship had been on fire
for two weeks near the port of Colombo. Part of the hull has settled on the seabed.
Experts fear hundreds of tons of oil in the ship's tanks could devastate nearby
marine life and beaches.
The ship had been carrying 25 metric tons of nitric acid, along with other chemicals
and cosmetics, when it caught fire on 20 May. Many of the ship's 1,486 containers
tumbled into the sea before the huge blaze was put out. Pollution from the ship including millions of plastic pellets which are the raw material for shopping bags had already coated stretches of Sri Lanka's western coastline.
(https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57343139)
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) of Sri Lanka made an EOR to Sentinel
Asia on 4 June. This EOR was escalated to the International Disasters Charter on
the request of DMC, which assumed the role of Project Manager (PM) for thisCharter activation. Among DPNs, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology
Development Agency (GISTDA), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and NARL provided observation
data. Among Data Analysis Nodes (DANs), the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
provided their Value Added Products (VAPs). Information on the latest response bySentinel Asia is available from the following link:
https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2021/article20210525LK.html

Satellite image (THEOS1) provided by GISTDA

Satellite image (Resourcesat-2) provided by ISRO

Satellite image (ALOS-2) provided by JAXA

Satellite image (FORMOSAT-5) provided by NARL

Value Added Product by AIT(3) Flood in Sri Lanka
A flood occurred in Sri Lanka on 3 June. ABC News said that at least six people had
died and five were still missing. Figures released by the government showed that
more than 5,000 people had moved to temporary shelters and more than 600
houses had been damaged.
(https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/floods-mudslides-kill-sri-lanka-50
00-displaced-78099927)
The DMC of Sri Lanka made an EOR to Sentinel Asia on 5 June. This EOR wasescalated to the International Disasters Charter and International Water
Management Institute (IWMI) assumed the role of PM for this Charter activation.
Among DPNs, GISTDA, ISRO, and JAXA provided observation data. Among DANs,
AIT provided their VAPs. Information on the latest response by Sentinel Asia isavailable from the following link:
https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2021/article20210603LK.html

Satellite image (THEOS1) provided by GISTDA

Satellite image (Resourcesat-2) provided by ISRO

Satellite image (ALOS-2) provided by JAXA

Value Added Product by AIT(4) Flood, Landslide in Nepal
A flood and a landslide occurred in Nepal on 15 June and caused tremendous
damage in the Helambu area. Nepal Republic Media Pvt Ltd. reported that morethan 50 people were missing in massive flooding of the Melamchi River, 39 of whomwere workers at the Melamchi Drinking Water Project.
(https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/more-than-50-people-missing-in-m
elamchi-flood/?categoryId=81)
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology of Nepal made an EOR to Sentinel
Asia on 16 June. Among DPNs, ISRO, GISTDA, and JAXA provided observation
data. Information on the latest response by Sentinel Asia is available from thefollowing link:
https://sentinel-asia.org/EO/2021/article20210615NP.htmlSatellite image (THEOS1) provided by GISTDA

Satellite image (ALOS-2) provided by JAXA- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *2. Sentinel Asia Webinar on Space Technology for Drought Risk Management to beco-organized by ISRO and IWMI
Recalling that several countries in the Asia-Pacific region severely suffer from droughts
and that space-based remote sensing technologies could provide a solution, experts
from ISRO and IWMI are co-organizing a dedicated webinar for the benefit of JPT
members titled “Space Technology for Drought Risk Management”. The webinar isplanned to take place on 19 and 20 July (TBC) from 10:00 (Hyderabad time) and willaddress, inter alia, theories of drought risk management and the introduction anddemonstration of the use of drought management platforms and will include aninteractive open discussion on regional cooperation mechanism for droughtmanagement and the way forward. This webinar is exclusive to JPT members andthose who are interested in participating in the webinar are requested to register by 10July. The dedicated registration link as well as a brochure giving details were sent to
all JPT members by the Sentinel Asia Secretariat on 29 June. Many registrations fromJPT members would be appreciated.
- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *3. How to send an Emergency Observation Request
JPT member organizations are entitled to send an Emergency Observation Request(EOR) for disasters in the Asia-Pacific region. Please refer tohttps://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- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *- * - * - * - * - * - *4. Using Sentinel Asia Operation System, OPTEMIS
Sentinel Asia launched a new operation system, OPTEMIS. Please refer to the website
on how to create an account for OPTEMIS.
https://sentinel-asia.org/e-learning/Emergency_Observation_Request.html+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+===+=
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