Heavy rains in the central United States have caused levees to breach along the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers, placing thousands of people and homes in danger. 80 Mississippi River flood gauges running through 10 states, from North Dakota to Louisiana, are indicating major flooding, the highest category. Parts of Oklahoma and Kansas have seen 15 to 20 inches of rain in the end of May, which is 300% to 400% of the normal amount. The biggest concern is the unprecedented pressure that the flooding has put on the levees. The Army Corps of Engineers plans on opening the Morganza Floodway, which is designed to divert excess floodwater from the Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya Basin.
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 disaster response 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 non-profits. If commercial companies are interested in using the data distributed through the Open Data Program, it can be purchased by contacting us here.
Pre-event imagery has been posted on our Open Data Program website. Please continue to check this site and our social media channels for updates on post-event data.
