AFAC 2015* Flood, fire, storm and drought: New tools and technologies to support national disaster mitigation, preparation and response (#70)
Australia, the land of droughts and flooding rains, is beset by large-scale natural disasters on a regular basis. A highly skilled group of emergency services has developed in states and territories to manage the response to these disasters when they occur, which always raises the question of the role of the Commonwealth in disaster response. There are a number of new technologies, tools and capabilities becoming available nationally through Australian Government agencies such as Geoscience Australia and the Bureau of Meteorology, which can not only assist with disaster mitigation and resilience planning and preparedness, but also potentially provide near real-time situational awareness to on-ground responders in a consistent and coordinated way across our large and diverse nation.
This presentation will discuss some of the latest capabilities and tools that are becoming available, and discuss critical directions for the future. Key topics covered will include: The International Charter for Space and Major Disasters; planned enhancements to the Sentinel Hotspots service; the Australian Flood Risk Information Portal; the Water Observations from Space (WOfS) product; and key disaster and exposure modelling technologies.
