Satellite remote sensing for disaster management support: A holistic and staged approach based on case studies in Sentinel Asia

Satellite remote sensing is one of the primary support tools for disaster management. The Sentinel Asia (SA) initiative was established in 2006 as a collaboration between regional space agencies and disaster management agencies, applying space technology (including representative satellite remote sensing) and Web-GIS technology to assist in disaster management of the Asia–Pacific region.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) worked to establish the SA framework and determine the implementation plan as an SA secretariat. SA can be regarded as an empirical research project to study how satellite remote sensing can support disaster management, in collaboration with users. This paper derives requirements for applying satellite remote sensing to disaster management support via a holistic (including human factors) and staged approach based on case studies in SA.