Applications of Synthetic Aperture Radar in Disaster Management

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology has emerged as a valuable asset for disaster risk management by providing advanced imaging capabilities that surpass traditional optical remote sensing approaches. It holds clear advantages over optical systems through its ability to collect data regardless of weather conditions or light levels, offering persistent monitoring possibilities. This comprehensive review examines the diverse applications of SAR across all phases of disaster governance. Recent innovations in SAR instrumentation now facilitate near-real-time, high-definition geospatial intelligence. Analytical techniques, including coherence analysis, deformation time-series mapping, and fused SAR-optical datasets, demonstrate great potential for flood surveillance, landslide detection, critical infrastructure oversight, and glacial lake monitoring. Real-world cases from India, Nepal, and the United States illustrate how SAR data support impact-based forecasting, emergency response coordination, and post-catastrophe recovery in diverse geohazard contexts. However, challenges persist that hamper SAR's full integration into global disaster management strategies, particularly in low- to middle-income nations. The open sharing of SAR archives, cross-sector collaboration platforms, and locally contextualized capacity-building initiatives could help realize SAR's promise. When paired with artificial intelligence, light detection and ranging, global navigation satellite systems, and web-based platforms, SAR may even transform hazard monitoring, resilience planning, and climate change adaptation for increasingly complex risk landscapes.