Cyclone Mocha, a category five cyclone with 130 mph winds and torrential rain, hit parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh, forcing mass evacuations ahead of the storm. The cyclone, one of the most powerful to hit the region in the last decade, made landfall on Sunday, May 14, 2023, near Sittwe in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Rain and a storm surge caused widespread flooding in low-lying areas. The United National Office Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that there had been extensive damage among already vulnerable communities and that communications with the affected areas have been difficult.
Learn more about the flooding in the DRC in these news articles:
When crises occur, Maxar is committed to supporting the humanitarian community by providing critical and actionable information to assist response efforts and fulfill 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 noncommercial 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 Sittwe, Myanmar.