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Relevant EO capabilities from the Copernicus Emergency Management Service

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS) is designed to support Disaster Risk Management (DRM) regarding natural and man-made disasters both during the emergency response phase and outside. It consists of geoinformation products and services to better understand and manage disaster risks and is provided by the European Union's Earth Observation Program, Copernicus. The Copernicus EMS involves the implementation of different components, each having several modules:

  • CEMS Mapping including Rapid Mapping; Copernicus Risk and Recovery Mapping (CEMS RRM); Validation; Aerial component. The Rapid Mapping service and the Risk and Recovery Mapping are both EO based services.

  • Early Warning and Monitoring with both EU wide and global services with monitoring and forecasting components. For instance, the European Drought Observatory (EDO) is continuously extended to the global scale (GDO for droughts); the same applies concerning Flooding and Forest Fires (GloFAS for floods, GWIS for forest fires).

  • Exposure Mapping service; the goal is the periodic production of global geospatial information on human settlements in the form of built-up area grids.

National Disaster Management Authorities (NDMAs i.e. user organisations with a mandate concerning DRM) are the primary requesters of the Copernicus EMS services. NDMAs from outside Europe are able to activate the Copernicus EMS through the Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the European Union (ERCC). Find more about ERCC at: https://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/.

The Copernicus Risk and Recovery Mapping service

The RRM is developed in the international context of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. It aims to supply information layers that support decision making in the emergency management phases that are not directly related to response. The RRM focuses on the information extraction for hazard and risk characterization in a range of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and recovery contexts.

Emergency response is managed using the CEMS Rapid Mapping service while the RRM is supporting other phases of DRM cycle, typically the phases after the immediate disaster response including recovery, rehabilitation, reconstruction and risk mitigation activities. Therefore, the RRM service concerns the on-demand provision of geo-spatial information in support to emergency management activities during the phases of the disaster emergency management cycle which are preceding (prevention or preparedness) or following (recovery phase) a disaster event. In addition, the CEMS has a component called Early Warning and Monitoring.

While both the Rapid Mapping service and the RRM service use satellite imagery and other geospatial data there are some key differences between them. The main difference is their focus and scope. Overall, Copernicus Risk and Recovery Mapping has the goal to improve disaster response and management in a complementary fashion to the immediate response phase (days to weeks) by looking at both disaster recovery following the emergency (weeks to months) and long-term risk mitigation efforts outside an emergency basis.

Examples of Copernicus EMS Rapid Mapping include damage maps of disaster-affected areas with information on the extent and severity of the disaster, as well as the location of affected populations and infrastructure. This information is used by emergency responders and disaster management authorities to plan and coordinate response efforts. These products are typically used in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, when timely information is critical for saving lives and minimizing damage.

The RRM service provides a range of different geoinformation products such as mapping the potential impact of future disasters, allowing authorities to take proactive measures to mitigate risks and minimize the impact of future events. The RRM service provides detailed information on the extent and severity of natural and man-made disasters, as well as potential risks and vulnerabilities. This information is used to plan and coordinate DRM activities including the development of strategies for recovery and risk reduction. This includes identifying areas that are at high risk of natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and wildfires and characterizing the hazard (susceptibility mapping). In addition, the RRM service supports post-disaster recovery efforts by providing detailed information on the extent of damage and the location of affected populations and infrastructure, with more details than rapid mapping products and generally with longer production time. This information can help planning and prioritizing recovery efforts, including the allocation of resources and the development of rebuilding plans. RRM is designed to support both emergency response and long-term recovery efforts, providing detailed information on a wide range of factors, while the CEMS Rapid Mapping service is focused primarily on rapid response, providing fast and accurate mapping products in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Since 2012 the CEMS Risk and Recovery Mapping products have been effectively used in risk reduction studies and recovery efforts for all types of disasters or humanitarian crises around the world.

The Copernicus RRM combines standard Services and flexible i.e. tailored services. Standard services comprise 20 different components divided into nine categories from the list provided in Annex.

Overall, the Risk and Recovery activity provides information and services relevant for supporting activities both on an emergency basis (disaster response) and activities not on an emergency basis (e.g. post-disaster recovery efforts, risk mitigation, preparedness, etc).

The Copernicus EMS Early Warning and Monitoring services

This includes:

  • The European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) and the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS), see: www.efas.eu. These services combine satellite information, hydrological, modelling, meteorological predictions and in situ measurements. In addition the Copernicus EMS provides a continuous global, systematic, and automated monitoring of all land surface areas possibly affected by flooding called global flood monitoring (GFM) product. Find more at: www.globalfloods.eu.

  • The European & Global Drought Observatories (EDO & GDO). The observatories gather drought-relevant information such as mapsof indicators derived from different data sources and produce reports with detailed description on severe drought events (e.g.,precipitation measurements, satellite measurements,modelled soil moisture content). Find more at: edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu.

  • The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). See effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu. EFFIS lies in the integration and processing of multiple data sources, including satellite imagery, and converting them into real-time information on forest fire management, in complement to different national systems. The compatibility of EFFIS with national systems makes it flexible and adaptable to specific methodologies and needs.

The Copernicus EMS Exposure Mapping service

The Copernicus EMS offers Exposure-related services that utilize EO data to support risk assessments. These services include the provision of geospatial information and maps that help identify and analyze elements at risk, such as buildings, critical infrastructure, and land use. The data and products provided by the Copernicus EMS can assist in understanding the potential impacts of natural or man-made disasters on these assets.

The Copernicus EMS exposure mapping component provides highly accurate and continuously updated information on the presence of human settlements and population with the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL). It is Supported by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the DG for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) of the European Commission, together with the international partnership GEO Human Planet Initiative.

The Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL), find more at ghsl.jrc.ec.europa.eu, provides detailed information on disaster exposure to support crisis management and the assessment of disaster risks. The scope of the exposure mapping component of the CEMS is to provide, with the Global Human Settlements Layer, highly accurate information derived from satellite and census data on the presence of settlements and population. GHSL datasets are available globally and can be downloaded for free by tile. They are available for different epochs ranging from 1975-2030, as well as different coordinate systems. Not all combinations of options are available i.e some products are only available at certain resolutions and/or certain years. The data is downloaded by selecting the desired options then the tile on the map. A global visualization of the data is also available as a map preview. The different products available are Built-up surface (with height and volume options), population gird (with settlement and functional urban area options), and other more specific characteristics. Population grids are effective datasets to assess the amount of resident population at fine spatial resolution. Population counts per grid cell quantify the amount of people exposed to hazards. Built-up surface grids are essential information to map human settlements and their characteristics (like land use and density). The amount of built-up surface per grid cell is useful to estimate settlement typologies and is used as covariate for population disaggregation.

Standard Copernicus Risk & Recovery Mapping Services

Floods

  • Flood delineation
  • Modeled flood extent for major events
  • Temporal analyses of occurred flood events

Forest Fires / Wildfires

  • Wildfire delineation and grading

Humanitarian crisis

  • Urban growth analysis
  • Human footprint evaluation of cities through nightlight analysis
  • Human settlements mapping
  • Population displacement location/monitoring

Soil erosion / Landslide risk

  • Soil erosion risk assessment
  • Landslide risk assessment

Ground deformation

  • Ground deformation analysis

Damage assessment and reconstruction monitoring

  • Detailed damage assessment analyses over affected areas
  • Reconstruction monitoring

Impact assessment/exposure after disaster

  • Impact assessment/exposure analysis on assets and population
  • Detailed impact assessment/exposure analysis on selected aspect

Reference data

  • Reference dataset
  • Land use and land cover dataset
  • Detailed reference dataset for high-importance areas
  • Digital surface model

Map layouts for printing

  • Ready to print maps and map books for field campaigns

These services are provided through framework contracts with pre-selected teams from Europe. When requests for services are submitted to Copernicus, the pre-selected teams are asked to propose services based on their areas of expertise. These products can be requested separately or in combination with other products, depending on the Users’ needs. They are known as the standard products.