As in the case of other regions of the world, Latin America is exposed to various types of geological and hydro-meteorological hazards which trigger disasters.  To contribute to strengthen the skills of professionals that contribute to disaster response efforts through the generation of space-based information, UN-SPIDER, ECLAC and the International Charter Space and Major Disasters organised the training course "Project Management using the ESA Charter Mapper".   The training course brought together 15 professionals with skills in project management in case of activ

It is well-documented that there are approximately 24,000 worldwide fatalities from lightning each year, with about 10 times more being injured from lightning (NIH-NCBI). In addition, lightning strikes are one of the leading causes of wildfire ignition. During storms, lightning strikes on trees, utility poles, and infrastructure, can damage power lines resulting in power outages. Lightning flashes also generate electromagnetic fields (Sferics) that interfere with electrical devices on ground.

Introduction

In recent decades, communities in Africa have experienced disasters triggered by floods, droughts, landslides, forest fires, Ebola pandemics, and locust plagues that have eroded hard-won development gains. Taking note of advances in space technologies and other technological innovations, the African Union indicated in its 2017 African Space Policy that space represented a unique opportunity for cooperation in using and sharing enabling infrastructure and data towards the proactive management of, inter alia, responses to natural hazards and disasters.