Ibadan, 28 October 2022. – ICEYE, a provider of natural catastrophe solutions and insights, has provided crucial flood insights over the past several months to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The company delivered its rapid flood extent and depth information through its partnership with New Light Technologies (NLT) and Bana Solutions (Bana). As a result, ICEYE has supported FEMA’s immediate response efforts for four major flood events.
FEMA has now received ICEYE’s flood data for the July floods in Kentucky, coastal flooding in Alaska, Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Ian’s affected areas. ICEYE is able to provide the necessary information as it owns the world’s largest synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation. Furthermore, the company utilizes multiple auxiliary information sources in providing near real-time flood extent and depth data for critical decision-making during storm events.
When large-scale natural catastrophes impact communities, it is essential that emergency response activities are prompt in remote locations or due to ongoing storm conditions and cloud cover. Unlike conventional Earth observation satellites, ICEYE’s small radar imaging satellites can form high-resolution images of areas of the Earth in daylight, at night, and even through cloud cover and rain.
“Our unique ability to capture the impacts of flooding as the event is unfolding brings a new level of situational awareness to our Government clients. We are proud of our collaboration with the Bana-NLT team and to see our flood data supporting FEMA’s immediate response and lifesaving activities,” said Andy Read, Global Head of Government Solutions at ICEYE.
Likewise, Dr. Ran Goldblatt, Chief Scientist of New Light Technologies, said, “ICEYE’s data significantly improves the ability to monitor weather events and their impacts on communities while serving as a key input to NLT’s disaster response models, revolutionizing the speed and accuracy of the analytics we supply to our customers.”
According to New Light Technologies’ Program Manager Robert Pitts, this data has proven to be invaluable to FEMA for their response during events such as Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona. Bana Solutions’ CEO, Ricky Berrios, adds, “As a Puerto Rican, it makes me proud to know that we are supporting a prioritized approach to FEMA’s response to these natural disasters such that the federal response is optimized.”