Harnessing EO for Effective Disaster Assessment and Recovery in Pakistan
European Earth Observation (EO) providers aided in assessing the aftermath of Pakistan’s catastrophic floods that began in June 2022, collaborating with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Description
Following the devastating floods which occurred in Pakistan starting from June 2022, several European Earth Observation (EO) providers took part in disaster assessment efforts to assist the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with the support of ESA. Every year, Pakistan experiences monsoon, a tropical and subtropical seasonal phenomenon often characterised by heavy rainfalls. However, this year, the monsoon rains led to floods recorded as the deadliest in Pakistan history. In response to the floods, the entire country was mapped by acquiring more than 1400 satellite images from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, and by processing them using an advanced algorithm capable of detecting flooded areas using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). This made it possible to identify the spatial extent of the floods and to monitor the progression of the inundations overtime. Apart from contributing to the flood progression monitoring and to the preliminary damage assessments, the results were also used for Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) efforts.
You can read more about this Case Study here: European Earth Observation providers support ADB in Pakistan floods recovery efforts