At least 27 people were killed in Turkey and Greece when a powerful earthquake hit the Aegean Sea on the afternoon of Friday, October 30, 2020, sending buildings crashing down and triggering what authorities called a “mini tsunami”. In Turkey, at least 20 buildings in the city of Izmir were destroyed. Images showed vehicles crushed under buildings and people digging through the rubble in search for survivors. At least 800 people had been injured in Turkey and dozens rescued by teams using digging equipment and helicopters. Approximately 470 aftershocks had been recorded, 35 of which were over 4.0 magnitude.
When crises like this occur, Maxar is committed to supporting the humanitarian community by providing critical and actionable information to assist response efforts and fulfilling our purpose, For a Better World. As part of our Open Data Program, Maxar will publicly release data of the affected areas to support response efforts as it becomes available.
Any imagery or data distributed through the Open Data Program is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 license (CC BY-NC 4.0). This licensing allows for non-commercial use of the information, meaning it can quickly be integrated into first responder workflows with organizations like Team Rubicon, the Red Cross and other nonprofits. If commercial companies are interested in using the data distributed through the Open Data Program, it can be purchased by contacting us here.
Imagery has been posted on our Open Data Program website. Please continue to check this site and our social media channels for updates on additional post-event data.
Building collapse and rescue workers after the earthquake in Izmir, Turkey on November 3, 2020.