Fast flood maps from space for France
22 March 2006
Flooding is more common and widespread than any other natural disaster. During the last decade, floods have affected approximately 1.5 billion people – roughly one quarter of the world’s population.
European space technology is playing an important role in the fight against floods by helping to reduce the risks from these catastrophic events. One of the latest projects is a satellite-based rapid mapping service developed to support civil defence activities in eastern France .
The key feature of the ESA-backed Flood Plain Monitoring Service is the ability to deliver map products within six hours during times of crisis. This speedy service makes it possible for emergency responders to make decisions based on up-to-date information about the flooded areas. However, the maps are also of value for helping to clean up after the floods, forecasting and prevention.
The satellite mapping service is now on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in France ’s Eastern Defence Zone (EDZ) Prefecture. This huge region includes 18 departments with a total population of 8.3 million people. It also includes four major river basins that are vulnerable to flooding.
Some 80 agencies - such as regional water authorities and flood forecast services - are involved in flood management within the EDZ. All of these have been briefed on using the mapping service.
The maps are based on two types of satellite data. High-resolution optical images are combined with radar images which can be obtained day or night, even in conditions of heavy cloud or rain.
