GRSS Chapters in Indonesia and Sri Lanka Assist with Emergency Disaster Response
By Kevin P. Corbley
In November 2025, two catastrophic cyclones formed within days of each other in southern Asia wreaking havoc on multiple countries in the region. If any good fortune can be gleaned from the twin disasters, it is that the hardest hit areas were served by IEEE GRSS chapters which immediately marshalled their expertise and personnel to provide support in the days and weeks afterwards.
Chapter representatives from the impacted regions gave reports of their response activities at the 2026 GRSS Administrative Committee meeting in February. Current GRSS president Dr. Saibun Tjuatja recommended leveraging the experiences in Asia as guides for other chapters to prepare for disasters in their regions moving forward.
Tropical Cyclone Senyar formed in the Strait of Malacca and swept across Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia with torrential rains, causing flooding and landslides. Some of the worst inundation occurred in the Aceh and North Sumatra Provinces of Indonesia. The death toll, which eventually reached 1,200+, likely would have been higher had it not been for quick intervention from the IEEE Indonesia Joint Aerospace and Electronic Systems/GRSS Chapter chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wahyudi Hasbi.
The IEEE Indonesia Section organized volunteers from its membership and beyond, including two Sumatran universities. In addition to providing an able-bodied workforce to assist with manual activities related to cleanup, the teams put their geospatial expertise into action. Satellite imagery was obtained from BRIN (Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency) for insights into infrastructure damage in remote locations the rescue teams could not reach.
“In our planning, one consequence stood out as immediately actionable: safe water access,” said Prof. Hasbi, explaining that flooding usually contaminates shallow sources of fresh water. Restoring clean water became a priority for the volunteers.
The BRIN imagery was critical in prioritizing those areas most in need of help, often based on degree of building and road damage and overall geographic isolation. The coordinated response effort included both field work and fund raising. In the days that followed the devastation, GRSS geoscientists focused their knowledge on deciding where to drill new water wells or place water filtration pumps.
Key accomplishments that saved lives on Sumatra included – Drilling two 50-meter bore wells into a clean aquifer in Aceh Tamiang and three 12-meter wells in Tapanuli Tengah. In the area of Langkat, two ultrafiltration pump systems were installed to cleanse contaminated water.
Prof. Hasbi identified two critical aspects to Joint Chapter success in the disaster: The willingness to work with other organizations and engaging BRIN early in the process to provide map data. Reflecting on the many lessons learned, the Professor recommends establishing a joint workforce among organizations in advance, deciding what types of geospatial maps will be needed for specific post-disaster purposes (water points, access routes, shelter siting, etc.), and pre-build the geospatial data pipeline.
Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka
Just days after Cyclone Senyar, a second typical storm known as Cyclone Ditwah formed in the Bay of Bengal and headed toward Sri Lanka and India. The flooding and landslides impacted all 25 Sri Lankan districts. Ultimately, more than 100 million people were affected with at least 400 reported deaths among widespread destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure.
Dr. Sureka Thiruchittampalam, Chair of the IEEE GRSS Sri Lanka Chapter, together with the chapter executive committee members, coordinated volunteers to support the Disaster Management Center and provided emergency funds from the chapter. The monetary contribution came from the executive committee, and their generosity is deeply appreciated. She credits the structure of the IEEE Sri Lanka Section for enabling the rapid mobilization of personnel to strengthen relief operations in the field and staff the emergency call center.
“Our team has independently assisted the community by providing both monetary support and online verification support for rescue inquiries,” said Dr. Thiruchittampalam. “In addition, our volunteers have actively contributed to coordination efforts for national rescue and relief operations at the Disaster Management Center.”
As the catastrophe unfolded over a series of weeks, Dr. Thiruchittampalam concluded the chapter’s robust response could have been even more impactful had additional preparedness been made long before the storm struck. The Sri Lanka GRSS Chapter has now initiated a major effort to utilize the geospatial and other expertise of its members to build proactive disaster response networks and establish flood awareness programs. The goal is to heighten preparedness, speed delivery of emergency resources, and save lives when similar catastrophes occur.
