Disaster Monitoring Systems

Needs Address

• Availability of climate information at the community level
• Enhanced adaptation capacity of local organisations that provide health, emergency, and social services
• Increased coping ability of marginalised and poor groups
• Integration of DRR with CCA approaches
• Urban response strategies

Adaptation effects

Reduces the impact of disaster events by facilitating such preparation

Overview and Features

Long-term climatic monitoring systems such as remote sensing and satellite-based vegetation indices provide which is needed to respond to expected or experienced disaster events. 

Cost

• Costs for equipment
• Costs for installing and operating monitoring equipment
• Costs for training users
• Costs for maintenance
• Costs dependent on context of implementation including what equipment and systems are already in place

Energy source

• Energy supply for monitoring equipment
• Human resources

Ease of maintenance

• Continued maintenance and upgrading of equipment is necessary
• Updated information
• Continued training for operators and information users is needed

Technology performance

• Monitoring can provide information on fast impact disasters such as storm surges and cyclones to enable immediate protection of lives and assets
• They can also provide information for slow-onset disaster such as droughts, to enable measures to be taken to avoid famine in the long-term
• Despite high costs, monitoring systems should be cost-effective, in comparison to the costs for recovery post-disaster
• Agricultural monitoring systems can be used to inform good practice for disaster monitoring systems

Considerations

• Need to be employed in tandem with effective and appropriate communication systems
• Skilled experts are needed to enable the successful operation of the system and should be given comprehensive and ongoing training

Co-benefit, suitability for developing countries

• Aids in better planning
• Financing for systems is often not available
• Limitations have been found in initial data needs assessments as well as in the interpretation of  data
• Political and economic limitations can hinder a government from securing an effective response even if accurate data is acquired
• Information from such systems should be complemented with local knowledge
• While skilled experts are necessary, they should not impede the involvement of the local community – rather community members can work with external experts or be trained in the use of equipment and data in order to heighten community acceptance by enabling local knowledge to also be integrated in interpretations

Information Resources

ADB, 2014. Technologies to Support Climate Change Adaptation. Asian Development Bank. Available at: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/149400/technologies-climate-change-adaptation.pdf [12 January 2015]

Afghanistan Peace Project, n.d. Reducing Risk for Kuchi People. Available at: http://www.afghanpeace.org/ [20 March 2015]

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC). Report on the Workshop on Climate Forecast Applications for Managing Climate Risks in Agriculture. Bangkok: ADPC, 2007. Available at: http://www.adpc.net/v2007/NEWs/2007/February/Report%20on%20the%20Workshop%20on%20Climate%20Forecast%20Applications%20for%20Managing%20Climate%20Risks%20in%20Agriculture.pdf [12 January 2015]

UNIDSR, N.D. Disaster Monitoring System in India. Available at:

http://www.unisdr.org/2005/mdgs-drr/national-reports/India-report.pdf [23 March 2015]