On Sunday, February 7, 2021 a Himalayan glacier broke and caused sudden, massive flooding in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. An avalanche swept away two dam projects, completely destroyed the Rishiganga power project and almost all of the workers were missing. Violent surges of water flooded mountain gorges, washing away bridges and roads. Approximately 150 people are missing and 14 have died. Rescue teams have been working to find survivors and recover bodies. More than 30 workers could be stuck in tunnels that have been covered with mud and debris.
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.
Overview of the NTPC Tapovan Dam Project after the flooding. WorldView-1 satellite image from February 9, 2021.