Disasters Charter celebrates its 20th anniversary

October 20, 2020, marks the 20th anniversary of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters," an international effort to put space technology at the service of emergency responders around the world.

Initiated in 1999 by the European Space Agency (ESA) and France's space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the Charter was signed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in 2000, making Canada a founding member.

With 17 Charter members and 61 contributing satellites from around the world, the Charter allows for resources and expertise to be organized for a quick response to catastrophic events. When the Charter is activated, its members make satellite images of devastated regions available to support relief efforts.

From November 1, 2000, to October 6, 2020, there were 678 activations in 126 countries, including 14 activations in Canada.

Canada's long-standing support of the Charter

Since the Charter entered into effect in 2000, Canada has supported relief efforts in 538 disasters worldwide by providing RADARSAT satellite images. Images from RADARSAT-1, launched in 1995, were provided 622 times, supporting 254 activations. Images from RADARSAT-2, launched in 2007 and still operational, have been provided 1,207 times, supporting 355 activations. Canada’s latest trio of Earth observation satellites, the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), was launched in 2019 and has supported 25 activations, providing 135 images (as of September 28, 2020).

Below you will find some examples of when the Charter was activated and images captured by Canadian RADARSAT satellites, showing the "before" and "after" of a major disaster. Each image is a slider – the image on the left was taken before the disaster occurred; the image on the right was taken after the disaster took place. Pull the lever in the middle to see the difference.

Floods in Nepal – July 2020

In July 2020, monsoon rains caused floods and landslides in the central and eastern districts of Nepal, killing more than 100 people. Over 10,000 people were affected, 7,500 of whom were displaced from their homes.

Floods in Canada – April 2019

In spring 2019, snowmelt and rain caused flooding in parts of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. According to Statistics Canada, about 17,500 homes were either hit by flooding or considered to be at risk. Approximately 460 km of roadways were washed out and over 600 square km of land were flooded, including 153 square km of agricultural land. In Quebec, around 9,500 people were evacuated from their homes, while one person died in a flood-related road accident. Over 2,000 soldiers were deployed to the affected areas to help fill and distribute sandbags and assist residents.

The Charter was activated by Public Safety Canada on April 19. Two hundred and twenty-seven satellite products were provided by eight agencies. Natural Resources Canada produced 13 maps to support relief efforts.

Volcano eruption and earthquake in the US – May 2018

Vigorous eruption of the Kīlauea Volcano, located on Hawaii’s Big Island, began on May 3, 2018, and continued for months. An earthquake of 6.9 magnitude occurred the same day, and numerous earthquakes of various intensity happened after that. While no casualties were reported, the volcano’s most destructive eruption in recorded history destroyed 700 homes.

Floods in Canada – May 2017

The city of Montreal and surrounding areas were hit by severe flooding due to heavy rain and melting snow following the seasonal rise in temperature. At least 1,900 homes were flooded across 126 towns and cities in the province of Quebec. The province of Ontario was also significantly affected. There was widespread flooding in the National Capital region. In southern Ontario, the Canadian Press news agency reported that Lake Ontario's water level reached an extent not seen since 1993.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, US – April 2010

On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, 70 km off the coast of Louisiana. The oil drilling rig exploded and sank, killing 11 people and causing the largest oil spill in the US history.

Explore further

• International satellites supporting disaster management
• Satellites and satellite-based systems: Indispensable tools to keep us safe
• RADARSAT Constellation Mission