Dozens are dead and whole villages remain underwater three days after Typhoon Vamco slammed into the Philippines, the third typhoon and fifth tropical cyclone to impact the region in recent weeks. Vamco wreaked havoc with continuous rain and wind from Wednesday, November 11, into Thursday, November 12, causing the worst flooding in years and a power outage for millions in the capital region of Manila. The extent of the devastation in northeastern provinces is still unfolding. As waters in areas reached two stories high, some stranded people, desperate for help, flooded social media with their locations and pleas for assistance. The pandemic has further complicated the situation, with thousands of displaced people crowding evacuation centers, and travel restrictions — which were not eased until Sunday, November 15 — potentially hampering aid and media access.
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.
Pre-event satellite image of Cagayan de Oro, Philippines from October 4, 2020.