Thumbnail Image

Rapid geospatial assessment after the earthquake in Syrian Arab Republic in 2023

Impacts on infrastructure and farming community during the period February–March 2023

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 50 p.

Author Dadhich, G.; Aboelsoud, H.; Seif, W.; Ghosh, A.; Mushtaq, F.; Adhikari, S.; Rossi, D.; Chiozza, F.; Jarary, R.; Shaban, D.; Zeitouny, J.; Marsland, N.; Robson, M.; Epifania, P.; Gauny, J.; Amparore, A.; Younan, M.; Impiglia, A.; Turot, T.; Henry, M.;

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 978-92-5-138138-0

Synopsis (short abstract) In February 2023, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 struck northern and western Syria, wreaking havoc on infrastructure, agriculture, and communities. A swift geospatial impact assessment was performed in the hardest-hit region, utilizing satellite imagery, remote sensing, and diverse data sources. By employing the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) and a hexagonal grid system for enhanced analysis, the study meticulously evaluated the earthquake's effects on people, infrastructure, and cropland. The assessment revealed that approximately 942,262 individuals, constituting 7% of the population, were likely impacted by the disaster. Particularly affected were districts like Elbistan, Battalgazi, Yesilyurt, Pozanti, and Golbasi. The research identified 110 km² of damaged built-up areas, with Jebel Saman, Al Ma'ra, Menbij, Al Bab, and A'zaz among the most affected districts. Moreover, irrigated cropland in districts such as Afrin, Ain Al Arab, A’zaz, As-Salamiyeh, and Al Ma’ra suffered considerable exposure. Notably, the study highlighted the dire effects on irrigation infrastructures, particularly wells in districts like Tartous, Lattakia, and As-Salamiyeh, waterways in As-Suqaylabiyah and Jisr-Ash-Shugur, and dams in Bahlolieh, Mzair'a, and Safita. The assessment’s findings underscore the need for field data collection, agronomic advice, and robust response planning. Looking ahead, enhancing spatial information for assessing natural resources, irrigation infrastructure, and agriculture, through methods like high-resolution satellite imagery and accuracy assessment, could yield significant benefits. The assessment's results also emphasize the importance of establishing a national geospatial database and monitoring platform for irrigated land, thereby fostering more effective disaster preparedness and response strategies.

Cite this content as:

Dadhich, G., Aboelsoud, H., Seif, W., Ghosh, A., Mushtaq, F., Adhikari, S., Rossi, D., Chiozza, F., Jarary, R., Shaban, D., Zeitouny, J., Marsland, N., Robson, M., Epifania, P., Gauny, J., Amparore, A., Younan, M., Impiglia, A., Turot, O. & Henry, M. 2023. Rapid geospatial assessment after Earthquake in Syrian Arab Republic in 2023 – Impacts on infrastructure and farming community during the period February–March 2023. Rome, FAO. 

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc7549en

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Rapid geospatial assessment after the earthquake in Türkiye in 2023
    Impacts on infrastructure and farming community during the period February-March 2023
    2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Türkiye is located in an active seismic zone, and earthquakes are not uncommon in the country. The government and local authorities have taken measures to strengthen buildings and infrastructure in order to minimize the risk of damage from earthquakes, but the region remains vulnerable to seismic activity. On 6 February 2023 at 4.17 am local time, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake occurred near the city of Gaziantep in southern Türkiye. Its tremors were felt in the provinces of Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Iraq. A rapid geospatial assessment has been conducted to assess the impact of the earthquakes on the agricultural sector by Geospatial Unit in Land and Water Division at FAO. Geospatial data from publicly available satellite imageries, very high-resolution aerial photographs, and information from national portals were collected and analyzed to assess the impact of the earthquake. The data were processed and analyzed using geospatial cloud computing tools. This report provides results on (1) damage proxy map (2) exposed population, (3) farmers exposure to earthquake, (4) map of cultivated land with 3 classes at 10 m resolution (Horticulture, Rainfed and irrigated), (5) Impacted agriculture infrastructure, (6) deformation map.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    A rapid geospatial analysis of the flood impacts on crops in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa in 2022 2022
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    South Africa is the southern most country on the African continent with the 121 309 ha of land area and highly dependent on agriculture sector (79 percent of agricultural land area) for food, income, and employment. Natural disasters like drought, floods, storms, cyclones etc. causes significant socio-economic damages and losses, as well as negatively impacting the agricultural sector. From 11–13 April 2022, heavy rainfall caused severe flooding and landslides affecting the south and south-eastern part of South Africa. Particularly, in the Provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, authorities reported loss of lives, infrastructure damages and inundated cropland. Disaster Charter 755 was activated for South Africa. From 19–20 April, moderate rainfall waa forecast over north-eastern South Africa, while no heavy rainfall was expected over the already affected Provinces. In this context, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Geospatial Unit of the Land and Water Division (NSL) with support from SFS REOSA conducted a rapid geospatial assessment on crops and the exposure of rural people during the period 10–20 April 2022. This assessment provides information at the district, local municipalities and ward levels in the area of interest (AOI). This analysis combines Sentinel 1 (S1) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Sentinel 2 (S2) imagery (both at a 10 m spatial resolution) with Planet imagery (5 m spatial resolution) and 2020 population data from Worldpop (100 m spatial resolution) to determine: (1) flood extent; (2) cropland area; (3) flooded crop area; and (4) exposure of population to flooded cropland. The results are provided in the form of maps by administrative units and tabular with descriptive statistics for the aforementioned indicators. With recent advances in geospatial and information technologies and updated land cover maps, crop specific information adapted to national conditions with tailored field campaigns have the potential to better support response programmes and agricultural development in the future. The key findings from this rapid assessment are that for Area of Interest (AOI): 1) total flooded area in the Province of Eastern Cape is 373 868 ha and in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal is 137 601 ha; 2) total cropland area estimated in Area of Interest is 1 386 941 ha; 3) overall inundated cropland is 51 601 ha (4 percent of the total land in AOI); and 4) the most affected districts in respect to people exposure to floods are Cacadu (54 616).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Booklet
    Syrian Arab Republic: Earthquake response and recovery plan, 2023–2026 2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The earthquakes that struck the Syrian Arab Republic on 6 February 2023 caused major damages and losses, affecting both urban and rural areas. For example, buildings collapsed in the main built-up areas; crops, livestock, food stocks and essential agricultural inputs were lost; and irrigation systems and farms were damaged, along with markets and infrastructure. As a result, food consumption gaps have grown further among the most vulnerable people. Given the already dire situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, after 12 years of conflict and crisis, there is an urgent need to address the suffering and uncertainty of the affected communities. In response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is proposing a three-year Earthquake response and recovery plan (ERRP), seeking USD 45 million to deliver both immediate and longer-term support to severely affected rural communities in the governorates of Aleppo, Hama, Idleb, Latakia and Tartous. Through the ERRP, FAO envisages that affected farming families will save and sustain their livelihoods, build self-reliance, and improve their resilience, ultimately reducing the humanitarian caseload. This document serves as a roadmap for the ERRP and as a resource mobilization tool, presenting the rationale, the expected impact, outcomes and outputs of the ERRP as well as the funding requirements.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.