Anita Rachman

Images From Outer Space to Assist in Quake Reconstruction

Remote sensing satellite images of the earthquake devastation in West Sumatra will be used to assist authorities in the reconstruction phase, an official from the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space said.

Orbita Roswintiarti, head of data processing division at the institute, better known as Lapan, said that her team would analyze the scale of the devastation by comparing the pre-earthquake image data with post-quake data.

“We have received data from several satellites, including Ikonos from the US and Spots from France,” Orbita said. “Neighboring countries have been very helpful.”

“We are now analyzing the data in order to guide and assist local governments, especially in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phases.”

The 7.9-magnitude earthquake in West Sumatra destroyed around 135,000 buildings and claimed at least 1,115 lives.

Totok Suprapto, head of Lapan’s environment and natural resources department, said that the team would compare satellite images produced on May 18 with those from Oct. 2 to study the devastation.

He said that the team was evaluating several major areas, including Padang city, Padang Pariaman and those areas most prone to landslides.

“However,” Totok said, “I cannot give you the full details on how large the area analyzed is because there are still some variables involved, such as the effects of cloud cover.”

Totok said that satellite imaging couldn’t proceed if there was too much cloud cover.

However, he said that the team had succeeded in capturing clear images of the landslide areas, which could help fill in the gaps for rescue and reconstruction groups.

“Maybe teams in the field missed one or two spots but the remote sensing data will pick up everything,” he said.

Orbita said that Lapan’s team would need at least two months to fully analyze the remote sensing data.

“However, next week, our team will fly to Padang to hand the copies of the data to the local government,” she said.

She said that good cooperation between the Lapan team and the local government was important because even though the team could study devastation from the remote sensing data, they still needed to check it on the ground.

She said the team would measure many aspects of the land — including type, height and the land’s declivity — to help prevent people in the province from taking up residence in landslide- prone areas.

“We also need to look at the buildings — what was used to construct them, wood, concrete and so forth,” she said. “We need to work together with the local authorities.”

Lapan and its remote sensing data has played a supporting but vital role in many of the country’s recent disasters, including the 2004 tsunami in Aceh and the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake.

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