SPACE AND DISASTER WARNING IN DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

Advent of space systems and their continuous developments have provide d new capabilities to address various disaster situations - both man-m ade and natural - which have been causing untold misery and significan t economic loss. The relevance of application of space systems is more significant in developing countries due to their particular situation which includes lack of terrestrial infrastructure and trained human r esources. Space systems have a unique role to play in the warning of i mpending disasters to assist the level of preparedness and to minimise the loss of life and damage to productive resources. A global survey of space-based systems that can contribute to disaster warning service s, specially as addressed to situations in developing countries are pr esented. Some concrete examples of such applications in developing cou ntries are dealt with in order to focus the technological and applicat ion features that address the solutions to the problems in the develop ing countries. Focus is also given on specific system configurations t hat would suit application in different disaster situations like cyclo nes, floods, drought, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc., which var y in terms of time scales of applications and predictability. In the w ake of developments foreseen in the earth observations system and thei r instruments as well as in the communication satellite systems and se rvices, the future capabilities for disaster warning systems are discu ssed. The issues relating to international coordination and cooperatio n for effectively addressing the needs of developing countries were ad dressed. The existing technological and organisational efforts in the developing countries towards disaster warning services are discussed, drawing out some observations for future actions.