Disaster Risk Reduction in the Horn of Africa

East Africa is a region at risk of multiple disasters including drought, floods and complex emergencies. The application of Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) has been fundamental for reducing the impact of such disasters and increasing community resilience. 

It is in this regard that UNITAR-UNOSAT partnered with the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the implementation of a project to build capacities in the use of GIT for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the region.

The project has efficiently implemented DRR activities at regional and national levels, benefitting the capacity development needs of IGAD's specialised agencies and its Member States.

IGAD-UNOSAT Capacity Development Project Overview

Web-maps and Geoportal

Two web-maps and a Geoportal were developed to support the project:

  • Live web-map for displaying seasonal climate outlooks, satellite-based rainfall estimations, flood hazards, flood forecast, changes in vegetation conditions, satellite-based flood extents and photos from collaborating partners and volunteers.
  • Flood hazard map for displaying flood hazard assessment for a 25 year return period, flood alerts and river-flow indicators derived from a flood forecasting system developed for the entire region.
  • GeoPortal that acts as a repository of data and spatial information for the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) such as land cover, flood extents, drought related products, administrative boundaries and relevant products that can be easily downloaded and utilized for further analysis or to make informed decisions at country level.

Contact UNOSAT regional office in Nairobi: unosat.nairobi@unitar.org

Partners

                                    IGAD .                                                                                  RCMRD .                                                                              ICPAC

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