BANGLADESH - DISASTER ALERT

GDB WILL ALSO IMPROVE ITS ANALYTICAL CAPABILITY TO APPLY REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY TO A VARIETY OF DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS OF FLOOD CONTROL, EROSION MANAGEMENT, LAND USE, AND FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT. THE MAJOR PORTION OF AID FINANCES PROVIDED BY THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT GBD"S SPACE RESEARCH AND REMOTE SENSING ORGANIZATION (SPARRSO). THE REMAINING PROJECT RESOURCES WILL SUPPORT PROGRAM ACTIVITIES OF THE CYCLONE PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM. THE DATA COLLECTION COMPONENT WILL USE METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES SUCH AS TIROS N (USA), GMS (JAPAN), INSAT (INDIA), AND THE SOVIET METEOR SATELLITE. THESE SATELLITES WILL RELAY INFORMATION ON SEVERE STORM AND FLOOD CONDITIONS VIA IMAGE TRANSMISSION TO SPARRSO AT A GROUND STATION NEAR DACCA. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE COMBINED WITH DATA FROM RADAR UNITS AND WEATHER STATIONS AND THEN ANALYZED AT THE STORM WARNING CENTER (SWS) TO ASSURE COMPLETE WEATHER PROFILES SIX TIMES PER DAY. FLOOD AND RIVER HYDROLOGY DATA COLLECTION UNITS WILL UTILIZE THE SATELLITES IN CONJUNCTION WITH AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION PLATFORMS (DCP) PLACED ALONG THE COAST AND THROUGHOUT PRINCIPAL RIVERS. RESULTANT DATA WILL BE ANALYZED BY THE WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR THE PURPOSE OF ISSUING FLOOD WARNINGS. IMPROVED AND MORE TIMELY FORECASTS OF SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODS WILL IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF VILLAGE-LEVEL WARNINGS PROVIDED BY THE CYCLONE PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM (CPP) TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS. CPP VOLUNTEERS WILL INFORM VILLAGERS OF THE NEAREST CYCLONE SHELTER, PREPARE TO INITIATE FIRST-AID RESCUE OPERATIONS, AND BE READY TO ASSIST THE MINISTRY OF RELIEF AND REHABILITATION IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD AND OTHER RELIEF GOODS. PP Supplement and Amendment of 3/29/89 provides additional funding for TA, U.S. and in-country training, and equipment. During the remainder of the project, SPARRSO will move from its current resource orientation to a stress on applications. Emphasis will be on improving SPARRSO"s organizational structure and implementing mechanisms; its interface with user agencies, scientific information networks, and international and regional organizations; and its knowledge of new developments in remote sensing. (PD-AAZ-074)