Satellites help flood-stricken Pakistan
Thursday, October 7. 2010
DMCii is playing an important role in the continuing disaster relief operations in flood-affected areas of Pakistan. DMCii satellite images are providing detailed snapshots of the flooded areas that show the current extent of the flooding at present compared to the initial impact that was widely reported in the media in August.
As reported by the BBC only yesterday, the floods in Pakistan are far from over. The image to the left shows the widespread flooding on August 16th. The image to the right was taken just yesterday (October 6th) and reveals the vast areas still submerged.
Satellite images comparing change in flooded area surrounding Indus river in Pakistan August - October 2010. UK-DMC2 image © 2010 DMCii (Click to enlarge)
Following a request from the European Space Agency (ESA) via the International Charter : Space and Major Disasters, the UK-DMC2 satellite acquired the above 22m resolution image.
The Pakistan floods began in July following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan. By United Nation estimates, over 21 million people have been affected by the flooding that at one point covered about one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area. Satellite images play a major part in estimating the extent of the disaster and aiding in the planning of relief efforts.
DMCii regularly responds to disasters throughout the world, providing up to date imagery to help authorities and relief agencies to plan disaster relief efforts.
Visit www.dec.org.uk/donate_now/ for more details on how to contribute to the disaster relief.
