Linking early warning systems with rapid mapping : procedure for pre-tasking of satellites for disaster impact mapping.
Date: 2018-01-11
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: cartography, environmental impact, environmental monitoring, flood, natural disaster, research report, satellite

Linking Early Warning Systems 
with Rapid Mapping  

Procedure for pre-
tasking of satellites for 
disaster impact mapping 

Copernicus Emergency 
Management Service 

2017 

Wania, A., Salamon, P., Thiemig, V., 
Dottori, F., Kucera, J., Mazzara, V., 
Villette, F., Luzietti, L.  

EUR 28846 EN

This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science 
and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking 
process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither 
the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that 
might be made of this publication. 

JRC Science Hub 
https://ec.europa.eu/jrc 

JRC108178 

EUR 28846 EN 

PDF 

ISBN 978-92-79-74668-0 

ISSN 1831-9424 

doi:10.2760/277581 

Ispra: European Commission, 2017 

© European Union, 2017 

Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission documents 
is regulated by Decision 2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). 

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, permission must be 
sought directly from the copyright holders. 

How to cite this report: Wania, A., Salamon, P., Thiemig, V., Dottori, F., Kucera, J., Mazzara, V., Villette, F., 
Luzietti, L., Linking Early Warning Systems with Rapid Mapping, EUR 28846 EN, European Commission, Ispra, 
2017, ISBN 978-92-79-74668-0, doi:10.2760/277581, PUBSY No. JRC108178 

All images © European Union 2017 

Contents 

Abstract ............................................................................................................... 3 

Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4 

1  Pre-tasking request based on early warning (Step 1) ............................................. 5 

1.1  Issue pre-tasking request based on early warning (Step 1a) ............................. 5 

1.2  Inform Early Warning System partner about the availability of Rapid Mapping 
(Step 1b) .......................................................................................................... 7 

1.3  ERCC informs the Mapping Authorised User in general about the pre-tasking 
activity (Step 1c) ............................................................................................... 7 

2  Image pre-tasking (Step 2) ................................................................................ 9 

2.1  Request a new image acquisition to REACT (Step 2a) ....................................... 9 

2.2  Communicate scheduled acquisition time and area to ERCC (Step 2b) ................ 9 

3  Inform Mapping Authorised User about the image acquisition (Step 3) ................... 10 

List of abbreviations and definitions ....................................................................... 11 

i 

Document change log 

Issue   Date 

Author  Modifications 

2.0 

02/12/2016 

JRC 

Consolidated draft 

2.1 

07/12/2016 

JRC 

Update  including  integration  of  comments  from 
ECHO, GROW; drafts for email templates added 

2.2 

16/12/2016 

JRC 

Integrated  further  comments  from  ECHO,  GROW, 
JRC; replaced EFAS with Early Warning Systems for 
applicability  to  other  EWS;  changed  document 
layout 

2.3 

09/02/2017 

JRC 

Minor changes 

2.4 

10/02/2016 

JRC 

Version sent to Rapid Mapping service provider for 
comments 

2.5 

02/05/2017 

JRC 

Integrated  modifications  following  the  comments 
received  from  the  Rapid  Mapping  service  provider 
(SP confirmed modifications mid-June) 

3.0 

11/07/2017 

JRC 

Final version released after presentation at Mapping 
User Workshop on June 

3.1 

23/08/2017 

JRC 

Updated  ECHO  PoCs  (replaced  Mazzara  with 
Sorensen)  and  EFAS  email  address;  in  step  2a 
resolution class HR2 was added 

2 

 
 
 
 
Abstract 

This  is  a  technical  document  describing  the  step-by-step  procedure  for  pre-tasking  of 
satellites  for  disaster  impact  mapping  in  the  frame  of  the  Copernicus  Emergency 
Management Service (CEMS). Pre-tasking is done following alerts for upcoming disasters 
issued by early warning systems (in this case by the European Flood Awareness System) 
which  are  either  operated  under  CEMS  or  under  other  frameworks.  Disaster  impact 
mapping is performed  under Rapid Mapping, the 24/7/365 on-demand service of CEMS. 
The  procedure  has  been  integrated  into  the  standard  operating  procedures  of  the 
Emergency Response Coordination Center of DG ECHO.   

3 

Introduction 

This  document  describes  the  procedure  for  pre-tasking  of  satellites  for  disaster  impact 
mapping  in  the  frame  of  the  Copernicus  Emergency  Management  Service  (CEMS).  Pre-
tasking is  done  following  alerts  for  upcoming  disasters  issued  by  early  warning  systems 
which  are  either  operated  under  CEMS  or  under  other  frameworks.  Disaster  impact 
mapping is performed  under Rapid Mapping, the 24/7/365 on-demand service of CEMS. 
The procedure was defined based on the experience of EFAS alerting for flood in Europe 
but aims at being applicable to other disaster events and early warning systems. 

The procedure defined hereafter is limited to the steps until submission of an image tasking 
request to the Rapid Emergency Activation for Copernicus Tasking REACT (Figure 1). 

Figure 1. Procedure Early Warning System-Rapid Mapping link for pre-tasking of image acquisitions 
(EFAS example) 

Involved actors, contacts for distribution lists in draft email templates: 

JRC ODO 10/7 on-duty-officer jrc-ems-rapidmapping@ec.europa.eu  

o  ERCC 24/7 on-duty officers ECHO-ERCC@ec.europa.eu  
o  RM service provider 24/7 on-duty-officer rapidmapping@ems-copernicus.eu 
o 
o  Francoise Villette (DG GROW) Francoise.VILLETTE@ec.europa.eu  
o  Andreas Sorensen (DG ECHO) Andreas.SORENSEN@ec.europa.eu  
o  Spyros Afentoulidis Spyros.AFENTOULIDIS@ec.europa.eu 
Ionut Homeag Ionut-Lucian.HOMEAG@ec.europa.eu 
o 
o  EFAS mailing list jrc-ems-efas@ec.europa.eu 

4 

 
 
 
 
1  Pre-tasking request based on early warning (Step 1) 

Actor: Early Warning System owner (for EFAS:  during test phase JRC team, in the future 
EFAS dissemination centre) 

This step involves three sub-tasks: 

1a) Issue pre-tasking request based on early warning 

1b) Inform Early Warning System partner about the availability of Rapid Mapping 

1c)  ERCC  informs  the  Mapping  Authorised  User  in  general  about  the  pre-tasking 
activity 

1.1  Issue pre-tasking request based on early warning (Step 1a) 

•  How:  

o  Via  email  (see  template  below)  and  followed  by  a  phone  call  to  +39 

0640694501 (on-duty phone of the Rapid Mapping Service Provider) 

•  Criteria for pre-tasking request:  

o  A  severe  impact  should  be  forecasted  by  the  early  warning  system.  The 
geographical  location  (inside  or  outside  Europe),  predicted  extension 
(affecting large or small parts of a country/region), socio-economic impact 
(number  of  people  affected,  economic  damages)  and  possibility  that 
international help is requested shall be considered. 

•  When: 

o  Not more than approximately 24h before the expected event1  
o  Consider confidence about the early warning, especially area and event peak 

time 

Consider cut-off times for satellite order submission (morning & afternoon slots, see  

o  Table  2).  Some  satellite  providers  accept  orders  at  any  time.  A  hard  rule 

cannot be established. 

•  Content: 

o  Affected area (country, river, region, places), as precise as possible, 
o  Provide KML with buffered critical points along the river (for floods)  
o  Expected event peak, specify morning or afternoon 

1 EFAS flood forecasts are updated twice a day during early and late morning. Based on these forecasts EFAS 

flood notifications are released before 9.00 and before 15.00 each day. 

5 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Table 1. Step 1a draft email template 

Subject: Early warning based satellite image pre-tasking for potential Rapid Mapping 
activation  

To: ECHO-ERCC@ec.europa.eu; rapidmapping@ems-copernicus.eu; jrc-ems-
rapidmapping@ec.europa.eu 

Cc: Francoise.VILLETTE@ec.europa.eu; jrc-ems-efas@ec.europa.eu; 
Andreas.SORENSEN@ec.europa.eu; Spyros.AFENTOULIDIS@ec.europa.eu; Ionut-
Lucian.HOMEAG@ec.europa.eu;  

Attachment: <AOI of the affected areas (KML, KMZ)> 

NOTE: This is NOT an activation of Copernicus EMS Rapid Mapping (RM) but a request for 
pre-tasking satellite images in view of a potential RM activation by the Mapping Authorised 
User.  

Early warning system: <name of the early warning system on which this early warning is 
based on> 

Situation description: <brief description of the situation, type of event predicted and the 
prediction> 

Expected start of the event: <dd/mm> 

Expected event peak: <dd/mm hh:mm UTC> 

Expected duration: <nb of days> 

Recommended  image  acquisition  window:  <dd/mm  hh:mm  UTC>  to  <dd/mm  hh:mm 
UTC> 

Affected country(s): <country name> 

Affected region(s): <name of NUTS region NUTS level> 

Affected major citie(s): <city name> 

Affected river basin(s): <river basin name> 

Table 2. Cut-off times for data ordering and resulting image acquisition time window (only for 
image providers/missions which have cut-off times) (source DAP v2.3) 

Provider/
mission 

Sensor 
type 

Deadlines to receive emergency tasking requests (all in UTC) 

time 

receive 
Cut-off 
tasking  request  in  UTC  (day 
0) 

to 

Resulting  acquisition  time  (start,  in 
UTC) 

Sentinel 1 

Radar  

10:00 CEST 

Day 0 from 18:00 

Mo 17:15 CEST 

Fr 16:00 CEST 

Day 1 

Day 1 

e-GEOS 

Radar 

7:30 

Day 0 from 18:21 to day 1 6:21  

17:30 

Day 1 from 6:21-18:21 

Airbus DE 

Radar 

08:30 

Day 0 from 18:02 to day 1 from 07:17 

21:30 

Day 1 from 07:17-18:01 

6 

 
1.2  Inform Early Warning System partner about the availability of 

Rapid Mapping (Step 1b) 

Actor: Early Warning System owner (for EFAS:  during test phase JRC team, in the future 
EFAS dissemination centre) 

Task: Inform the Early Warning System point of contact (e.g. EFAS partner):  

•  about the availability of the RM service 
• 

that  following  an  early  warning  images  will  be  pre-tasked  for  a  potential 
mapping of affected areas  

Table 3. Step 1b draft email template – example for an EFAS alert 

Subject: EFAS alert for <region/place> - Availability of flood rapid mapping (Copernicus 
EMS) 

To: EFAS partner 

Cc: jrc-ems-efas@ec.europa.eu  

Attachment: <AOI of the affected areas (KML, KMZ)> 

Dear EFAS partner, 

With  reference  to  the  EFAS  alert  issued  <date>,  for  <region,  place>  in  <country>  we 
would like to remind you that the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) also 
provides the possibility to obtain rapid satellite based geospatial information showing the 
extent  and  impact  of  an  ongoing  flood  (Rapid  Mapping,  for  more  information: 
http://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping).  

Based  on  the  mentioned  EFAS  alert  and  the  latest  EFAS  forecasts,  the  Rapid  Mapping 
service is about to request the acquisition of new satellite imagery over the affected areas 
as  outlined  in  the  attached  area  of  interest  (AOI).  If  you  have  any  comments  on  this 
request of imagery and related AOI, please get back to us as soon as possible. Note: This 
is NOT an activation of the CEMS Rapid Mapping service. It can only be activated by the 
specific  authorised  user 
found  here: 
https://www.efas.eu/utilities/cems-rapid-mapping.html. If  your country does not have a 
specific  authorised  user  please  contact  the  Emergency  Response  Coordination  Center 
(ECHO-ERCC@ec.europa.eu) 

country,  which 

for  your 

can  be 

Yours sincerely, 

The EFAS team 

1.3  ERCC informs the Mapping Authorised User in general about the 

pre-tasking activity (Step 1c) 

Actor: ERCC 

Task:  inform  the  Mapping  Authorised  user  about  the  pre-tasking  activity  (see  template 
below) 

7 

 
Table 4. Step 1c draft email template 

Subject: Request of new imagery following EFAS alert for upcoming floods 

To: <Mapping AU Focal point (incl. 24h contact)> 

Cc: rapidmapping@ems-copernicus.eu; jrc-ems-rapidmapping@ec.europa.eu; 
Francoise.VILLETTE@ec.europa.eu; Andreas.SORENSEN@ec.europa.eu; Ionut-
Lucian.HOMEAG@ec.europa.eu; echo-ercc@ec.europa.eu; 
Spyros.AFENTOULIDIS@ec.europa.eu; Juan.ESCALANTE@ec.europa.eu 

Attachment: NA 

Dear Authorised User of the Copernicus EMS Mapping services, 

We hereby inform you that following an EFAS early warning for floods for <region, place> 
in <country> we are requesting the acquisition of new satellite imagery over the potentially 
affected areas.  This initiative aims at improving timeliness in the Rapid Mapping service 
and in particular at reducing the time required for obtaining post-event imagery. This pre-
tasking is done only in view of a potential Rapid Mapping service activation but does not 
constitute an actual activation. 

Please let us have information and concern you may have about this flood and your desire 
to activate the Copernicus EMS Mapping service. 

We remain available for questions you might have. 

Best regards, 

The ERCCduty officers 

8 

 
 
 
2  Image pre-tasking (Step 2) 

Actor: Rapid Mapping service provider 

This step involves two sub-tasks: 

2a) Request a new image acquisition to REACT 

2b) Communicate scheduled acquisition time and area to ERCC 

2.1  Request a new image acquisition to REACT (Step 2a) 

•  Check the AOI provided in the pre-tasking request of the early warning and optimise 
with respect to satellite footprint if necessary (focus on covering areas along the 
river) 

•  For the SPERF submission assign a pre-tasking activation code EMSR9XX (consider 
that for the first one applied for the French floods in June 2016 was EMSR900) 
•  ask REACT for feasibility of HR1 or HR2 radar (incl. Sentinel-1, resolution class is 

• 
• 

related to AOI size) in the recommended acquisition window (see Table 1) 
If Sentinel-1 passes are available, then ask for NRT delivery  
If Sentinel-1 is not available or cannot be delivered in NRT, order the next possible 
HR1 acquisition 

2.2  Communicate  scheduled  acquisition  time  and  area  to  ERCC 

(Step 2b) 

•  Email content: AOI (KML), acquisition time, resolution, sensor type 
•  Distribution list:  

o  TO: ECHO-ERCC@ec.europa.eu; Andreas.SORENSEN@ec.europa.eu; Ionut-
Lucian.HOMEAG@ec.europa.eu; Spyros.AFENTOULIDIS@ec.europa.eu 

o  CC: jrc-ems-rapidmapping@ec.europa.eu 

Table 5. Step 2b draft email template 

Subject: [EMSR9XX] status update 

To: ECHO-ERCC@ec.europa.eu 

Cc:  jrc-ems-rapidmapping@ec.europa.eu; Francoise.VILLETTE@ec.europa.eu; 
Andreas.SORENSEN@ec.europa.eu; Ionut-Lucian.HOMEAG@ec.europa.eu; 
Spyros.AFENTOULIDIS@ec.europa.eu; jrc-ems-efas@ec.europa.eu 

Attachment: <KML /KMZ of SPERF AOI> 

Dear ERCC duty officer, 

We have requested the following image for the area in attachment: 

<acquisition time dd/mm hh:mm> <sensor> <resolution VHR/HR> 

We expect the image to be delivered at <dd/mm hh:mm UTC>. 

Best regards, 

RM SP OdO 

9 

 
 
 
 
3  Inform Mapping Authorised User about the image 

acquisition (Step 3) 

Actor: ERCC 

Task: 

•  ERCC  duty  officer  informs  the  Mapping  Authorised  User  (AU),  or  the  relevant 
PoC in the case of a non-EU country, as well as other relevant initiatives (e.g. 
International  Charter  Space  and  Major  Disasters)  about  the  EFAS  alert  based 
pre-tasking of satellite acquisitions (share AOI, resolution, acquisition time) and 
asks whether the AU wishes to activate the EMS RM service. 

Subject: Request of new imagery following <early warning system name> pre-tasking 
for upcoming <event type> - UPDATE 

To: <AU Focal point (incl. 24h contact)> 

Cc: rapidmapping@ems-copernicus.eu; jrc-ems-rapidmapping@ec.europa.eu; 
Francoise.VILLETTE@ec.europa.eu; Andreas.SORENSEN@ec.europa.eu; Ionut-
Lucian.HOMEAG@ec.europa.eu; echo-ercc@ec.europa.eu; 
Spyros.AFENTOULIDIS@ec.europa.eu; Juan.ESCALANTE@ec.europa.eu  

Attachment: <KML/KMZ of SPERF AOI> 

Dear Authorised User of the Copernicus EMS Mapping services, 

Please be informed that at <dd/mm hh:mm UTC> a new radar image (<sensor>) will be 
acquired  over  the  area  defined  in  the  attached  file.  On  that  basis,  we  are  now  ready  to 
very quickly produce maps showing the extent and impact of the flood in the mentioned 
areas. Please let us know if you wish to activate the Rapid Mapping service. 

We remain available for questions you might have. 

Best regards, 

The ERCC duty officers 

10 

 
List of abbreviations and definitions 

CEMS  Copernicus Emergency Management Service 

EFAS 

European Flood Awareness System 

ERCC  Emergency Response Coordination Center 

AOI 

Area of Interest 

RM 

AU 

SP 

Rapid Mapping 

Authorised User 

Service Provider 

OdO 

On duty officer 

PoC 

Point of Contact 

NRT 

Near real time 

REACT  Rapid Emergency Activation for Copernicus Tasking 

11 

 
 
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doi:10.2760/277581 

ISBN 978-92-79-74668-0