This Lecture from the CopPhil training covers how Earth Observation supports disaster management, built around Copernicus and Sentinel-1 SAR.
It opens by framing disasters as a product of hazard × exposure × vulnerability — a hazard only becomes a disaster through human decisions and vulnerability, not nature alone — and defines disaster management as coordinating preparedness, response, and recovery. It then positions Copernicus and its Emergency Management Service (CEMS) as free, all-weather data sources for rapid mapping of floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and droughts, citing the CEMS activation for Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 and a PhilSA damage-detection map for the October 2025 Central Visayas earthquake.
The technical core explains Sentinel-1 C-band SAR: backscatter (smooth/flooded surfaces appear dark, rough surfaces bright) and VV polarization as the workhorse signal for disaster mapping. From there it contrasts the two main workflows:
Flood mapping uses a minimum VV composite to catch the lowest backscatter from standing water — a large, short-lived VV drop (>5 dB).
Landslide mapping uses a mean VV composite to highlight persistent surface change — a smaller, semi-permanent VV decrease (~2 dB) from vegetation removal and soil exposure.
Teacher: Alvin Baloloy