Dominican Republic

To facilitate the activation of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters in Central America, Mexico and Dominican Republic, UN-SPIDER, the Central American Coordination Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC) and the International Charter Space and Major Disasters organized a regional training course in Guatemala City, Guatemala, from 30 November to 02 December 2021.   Experts from the National Commission on Space Activities of Argentina (CONAE), National Space Research Institute of Brazil (INPE), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) made participants aware of the procedures used by the International Charter in case of activations, and on the procedures and guidelines that project managers designated by the International Charter must follow when designated as project managers in case of activations. In addition, an expert from the Federal University of Santa Maria of Brazil (UFSM), in its role as a UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office,…

ONU-SPIDER, la Carta Internacional Espacio y Grandes Desastres, el Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de Desastres Naturales en América Central y República Dominicana (CEPREDENAC) y la Universidad Federal de Santa María de Brasil (UFSM) organizaron un curso de entrenamiento para facilitar la activación de la Carta Internacional Espacio y Grandes Desastres en México, América Central y República Dominicana, Dicho curso se llevó a cabo en Ciudad Guatemala del 30 de noviembre al 2 de diciembre del 2021.  El curso fue brindado por expertos de la Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales de Argentina (CONAE), el Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Espaciales de Brasil (INPE), el Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos (USGS) y UFSM. Los expertos  describireron el proceso que utiliza la Carta Internacional en caso de activaciones y los procedimientos y lineamientos que deben seguir los gerentes de proyecto que son designados por la Carta Internacional en caso de…

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) of the Dominican Republic has launched a National Integrated Information System (SINI) to support decision-making in disaster risk reduction and emergency response. SINI - an inter-institutional, multi-disciplinary geospatial information portal - was developed with the support of the Ministry of the Presidency of the Dominican Republic. The need for such a system was first recognized in Decree Law 147-02, which the Congress of the Dominican Republic adopted in 2002.

SINI has been structured to compile data from a variety of ministries, government agencies and other sources, as well as using unmanned aerial vehicles, to generate relevant information in a timely basis which can be used by the Technical Committee for Prevention and Legislation to guide disaster risk reduction efforts within the Dominican Republic, as well as by the National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) of the Commission in case of disasters.

The new Geospatial…

Heavy rains are affecting the Dominican Republic since the end of March 2017. They caused swelling of rivers in several areas in the country , displacing more than 9,000 people. The Disaster charter was activated on 24 April 2017, on behalf of Emergency Operations Center (COE). Weather reports forecast further heavy to moderate rain across the country.

• Institutional links to further mapping products, geodata, geolinks and databases

Alert areas maps are available at the Emergency Operations Center (COE)'s website: http://www.coe.gob.do/index.php/publicaciones

More information to be completed.

• Warning centers

Updated information of alerted areas can be found on Emergency Operations Center (COE)'s website: http://www.coe.gob.do

The President of the National Emergency Commission of the Dominican Republic activated the Inter-Institutional Geo-Spatial Information Team (EIGEO) to generate relevant information to support emergency relief efforts in areas affected by hurricane Matthew in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti.  

The EIGEO team was officially established in 2013 by the National Emergency Commission at the recommendation of UN-SPIDER.  The team brings together professionals from 14 ministries, government agencies, universities and NGOs who have been trained on the use of geographic information systems and remote sensing applications.

Maps and relevant information generated by the EIGEO team will be used by government officers coordinating disaster response efforts in the National Emergency Operations Center that has been set up by the National Emergency Commission and the Civil Defense of the Dominican Republic since several decades ago for this purpose.…

The UN-SPIDER programme of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the National Emergency Commission of the Dominican Republic (NEC) joined forces to conduct a training course in the premises of the NEC from 20 to 22 July 2016 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  The training course focused on the generation of maps depicting the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and the Standard Vegetation Index (SVI) using the Recommended Practices that have been developed by experts for UN-SPIDER.

The training course targeted 20 members of the government agencies and NGOs that integrate the Geospatial Information Management Team (EIGEO) that was established by the NEC and other government ministries and agencies in March 2013 as a way to support disaster risk reduction and emergency response efforts in the Dominican Republic.

Mrs. Silvia Pardi Lacruz from the Federal University of…

UN-SPIDER and the National Emergency Commission of the Dominican Republic conducted a regional expert meeting in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with the support of Secure World Foundation on the use of space-based information in early warning systems for sroughts. The meeting, which was conducted on 18 and 19 July 2016, brought together nearly 70 experts from Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico; as well as from FAO, UNCCD, WFP, UNDP, CRECTEALC, CEPREDENAC and UNOOSA. It was inaugurated by Mrs Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA, and Mayor General Rafael de Luna Pichirilo, President of the National Emergency Commission of the Dominican Republic.  

The expert meeting has contributed to the efforts conducted under the umbrella of the project entitled Strengthening Early Warning Systems for Drought (SEWS-D). The project aims to…

The UN-SPIDER programme of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the National Emergency Commission of the Dominican Republic will conduct a Regional Expert Meeting on the Use of Space-based Information in Early Warning Systems for Drought.  The expert meeting will be conducted in Santo Domingo on 18 and 19 July 2016, in the premises of the Centro de Exportación e Inversión de Republica Dominicana (CEI-RD). It will bring together experts from government agencies, universities and NGOs in the Dominican Government; as well as representatives of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras; and regional and international partners involved in the project entitled “Strengthening Early Warning Systems for Drought” (SEWS-D).  The expert meeting will benefit from the support provided by Secure World Foundation. 

The SEWS-D project, conducted by UN-SPIDER and several international, regional and…

When a disaster strikes, situational awareness regarding impacts and needs is essential as a way to plan and carry out response efforts in areas affected by such a disaster. In recent years, advancements in the incorporation of satellite-assisted positioning and navigation services in smart telephones and other devices are contributing to enhance the capacity of responders on the ground to communicate critical information on such impacts and needs to Emergency Operations Centers.

Equally relevant are advances in the development of software applications such as GeoSHAPE, developed under the management of the United States Southern Command’s Science, Technology and Experimentation Division (USSOUTHCOM). GeoSHAPE stands for Geospatial Security Humanitarian Assistance and Partnership Engagement. It combines a web-based application that sits on a server and a portable application for the collection of data and images in the field. It has been developed to facilitate the…

UN-SPIDER's Regional Support Office, the Argentinean Space Agency CONAE, is providing a two-phase technical training course to the inter-institutional working group EIGEO in the Dominican Republic in order to strengthen its members' capacities to use satellite imagery for disaster response.

The first phase of the training course is taking place from 10 to 14 March 2014 with an introduction to optical image processing and its application in emergencies. The second phase is scheduled from 31 March to 3 April 2014 with an introductory course to radar images processing and its application in emergencies. These courses are taught by Professor Mario Alberto Lanfri of CONAE remotely from Argentina via Google Hangout. Estrella Melero, a volunteer from the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program. is supporting CONAE as the on-site-trainer.

The images used in this training are covering the Dominican Republic and were provided by the Geological…

The President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, has approved a new "National Plan for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management", as UNISDR reported. The plan will define policy guidelines and basic principles for public and private institutions and civil society organizations. It focuses on the implementation of programmes that reduce disaster risk, ensure the safety of citizens and protect the country’s economic, social, environmental and cultural heritage.

The plan was prepared by the National Dominican Emergency and the Civil Defence Commission. It fits within the country’s existing instruments that guide risk prevention and mitigation, response preparations and disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction. These include: Risk Management Policy, National Risk Management Plan, and National Plan for the Reduction of Seismic Risk.

The National Emergency Commission of the Dominican Republic (NEC) and the UN-SPIDER Programme are organising a training course in Santo Domingo to increase the knowledge and skills of 27 professionals from 15 Ministries, Government organizations and universities on the generation of space-based information focusing on floods. The course is conducted in the premises of the NEC from 13 to 17 May 2013 and contributes to the official establishment of the Inter-Institutional Team on Geo-Spatial Information for Disaster-Risk Management and Emergency Response (EIGEO) which is being implemented by the NEC as a way to enhance the use of space-based information in efforts including disaster risk management, preparedness and emergency response in case of floods. The EIGEO will contribute to the conduction of tasks contemplated in the National Disaster-Risk Management Plan as well as response efforts in case of disasters through the National Emergency Operations Centre.

Experts from…

UN-SPIDER's Regional Support Office CATHALAC (Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean) conducted a satellite-based analysis of floodings caused by the lakes Azuei in Haiti and Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. As indicated recently by the Associated Press (AP), the expansion of these lake has caused flooding of neighboring farmland, and consequently, significant damage in both countries

CATHALAC's satellite-based analysis indicate that the area of Lake Azuei has expanded by some 14.4%, to 13,369 hectares, while Lake Enriquillo has expanded by some 62.2%, to 33,280 hectares. This analysis is based on Landsat-7 imagery captured on August 31, 2012. Nevertheless, the MODIS / Terra image captured this morning indicates that the areas remain flooded. CATHALAC will continue monitoring the situation.

The National Emergency Commission of the Dominican Republic and UN-SPIDER organized an inter-institutional workshop on 8-10 November 2011 in the facilities of the Commission to elaborate the operational framework for the Geo-Spatial Information Team which will target efforts in the areas of risk management and disaster response. The workshop gathered technical staff from the National Emergency Operations Centre, Civil Defense, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Environment, Agriculture, Mining, and Health; the National Institutes of Water Resources and Statistics, and Military Cartography, from the National Meteorological Office, the Institutes of Geography and Seismology of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, from the Technological Institute of the Americas, and from an Non-Government Organizations such as the Red Cross. The workshop allowed CNE and UN-SPIDER to gather elements to elaborate terms of reference for the inter-institutional team that will support CNE regarding the…