SAFER

SAFER aims at implementing preoperational versions of the Emergency Response Core Service. SAFER will reinforce European capacity to respond to emergency situations: fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, humanitarian crisis. The main goal is the upgrade of the core service and the validation of its performance with 2 priorities: First priority is the short term improvement of response when crisis occurs, with the rapid mapping capacity after disastrous events, including the relevant preparatory services (reference maps). For validation purposes, the project will deliver as from 2008 services at full scale for real events or during specific exercises. The main performance criterion is the response time. RTD work addresses technical, operational and organisational issues. The content of this first action is consistent with the definition of the preparatory action recently decided. The second priority is the extension to core service components before and after the crisis. It targets the longer term service evolution, through the provision of thematic products, to be added in the portfolio of services. The main performance criterion is the added-value of products with risk-specific information.

The emergency response core service of the EU’s Earth monitoring programme has been expanded, enabling better crisis management before, during and after emergencies often related to global climate change. The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme coordinated and managed by the EC addressed six thematic areas: land, marine, atmosphere, climate change, emergency management and security. A large European consortium focused on the Emergency Response Core Service of the GMES initiated the EU-funded ‘Services and applications for emergency response’ (SAFER) project.

SAFER had two main objectives whose achievement reinforced Europe’s capacity to respond to emergency crisis situations.

i) The first was to enhance immediate response to crisis with rapid mapping after disastrous events and relevant preparatory services.

ii) The second was to extend services covering longer term periods before and after crisis events with added value products of risk-specific information.

Products consisted primarily of meteorological and geophysical risks. SAFER’s second year of funding witnessed 50 emergency exercises with increased responsiveness. The consortium also executed more than 50 emergency support activities related to preparedness/prevention and recovery. Scientists agreed on formal cooperation guidelines with the international charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ and with the GMES Services for Management of Operations, Situation Awareness and Intelligence for Regional Crises (G-MOSAIC). The final project year consisted of refining and optimising the operational services with extensive user feedback.