Case Studies

When a flooding event occurs, reactivity is key to rapidly assessing damage extent and supporting rescue operations. Airbus Defence and Space’s Constellation of satellites provides an efficient response thanks to its daily revisit capability and its weather independence.

Hurricane Matthew, a Category 5 Hurricane, hit the Eastern Coast of the United States, as well as the Western Atlantic region, including: Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Lucayan Archipelago in late September 2016. The hurricane left the Western Atlantic in devastation with over 1600 estimated deaths in the region.

In October 2015, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Hindu Kush Range in Afghanistan. SUPARCO, the Pakistan National Space Agency, was requested to provide damage assessment maps of the affected areas in the shortest timeframe to efficiently support the management of relief and rescue operations.

Three days of record rainfall turned the Sava river into a deadly torrent and caused the worst floods in Serbia in more than a century. Airbus Defence and Space tasked all satellites of the constellation in order to support the international emergency response and speed up post damage assessment.

Flooding and subsequent freezing formed ice up to 80cm thick throughout the stretch of Alaska's Dalton Highway. Near real-time TerraSAR-X imagery delivered quickly for flood assessment played a decisive role in the time sensitive planning activities.