Disaster monitoring using remotely sensed data from Russian Earth observation satellites

The problem of the central and local authorities´ adequate reaction to natural disasters which are becoming more and more frequent on the territory of Russia is very acute now. Monitoring those disasters, in the first place, forest fires and river floods based on remote sensing data from Earth observation satellites is a very effective means to solve the above problem for Russia having a vast territory and abounding in regions of difficult access. An experimental system for forest fires and floods mapping based on data obtained from the Russian Earth observation satellites of the series Resurs-O1 has been created. This system has been successfully used in 1998 during severe spring floods and summer forest fires in the North of the European part of Russia