Time is vital when dealing with emergencies. And your software system can make the difference by reducing and improving response times.
This is especially true for agencies working to prevent and manage large emergencies in support of the population, such as the Civil Defense agencies in the territory.
However, time is not the only key element. There are other tools for emergency management and prevention that can make a difference. One of these is spatial analysis.
Spatial analysis in emergency management
Beta 80 Group is a leader in emergency management solutions, with over thirty years of experience in first and second-level PSAPs and control rooms, and EOC.
Since 2012 our solutions include Civil Protection control room technologies. To develop these new technologies we worked to incorporate the spacial element.
Spatial analysis is key to understanding a large-scale event. How?
In managing a flood, it is vital to map the flooded area, the damaged sections, and the damage level.
In a landslide, especially with slow kinematics, it is necessary to understand its evolution and which areas may be involved.
But how is spatial analysis carried out?
Relying on the collection of user reports is not enough, having capillary monitoring networks can be impractical. So we asked ourselves: what other tools are available to create a proactive control room?
A relevant one is the satellite images and their processing. A significant number of satellites sharpen optical images and radar images of the Earth. Comparing sequences of radar images taken at the same location can serve to measure offsets and terrain variations. This processing is known as interferometric analysis.
NOCTUA project: an accessible spatial analysis at the service of citizens
This is the reason behind the NOCTUA project, which aims to make both the purchase of satellite images and their processing more accessible.
The use of satellite images to deal with emergencies is already well established. Europe has the Copernicus service, which allows national authorities to monitor major emergencies on request. Authorities activate the satellite network to carry out rapid mapping of emergency territories and have a spatial vision of the phenomenon, often interpretable only through a satellite view of the overall picture.
However, the activation of the Copernicus emergency system is very expensive and reserved for national emergency management agencies.
The NOCTUA project creates low-cost satellites and ICT platforms offering a service similar to Copernicus, but for smaller-scale emergencies, activated by local authorities (eg Regions).
The main advantages of the NOCTUA Project are:
-
Drastic reduction of management costs
-
Accessibility of space analyzes even for minor emergencies
The experimental project is still in the planning stage, but gaining awareness of all the variables involved is already an element of value and could be the driving force for new tools and methodologies for managing and forecasting emergencies.