Since 12 December, a winter storm, Alexa, has struck the Middle East causing days of snow and heavy rain. The, reportedly, worst storm of the region in over sixty years, has resulted in flooding in the Gaza Strip that has forced the evacuation of over 5000 people.
Many homes in Gaza were ill-equipped to cope with the almost unprecedented weather, which brought floodwaters to two metres high in some areas. The northern part of the Gaza Strip has been declared a disaster area, where thousands of evacuees' have been moved to schools and emergency shelters and thousands of homes have been inundated or left without power.
Available historical data
| Provider | Area | Date | Type and Link |
| |||
| USAID - GIST portal (login needed - it is free) | Gaza strip | 2004-2009 | shapefiles (airports, buildings, landcover, roads, railroads, wells and more) |
| USAID - GIST portal (login needed - it is free) | Israel | 2004-2007 | shapefiles (airports, elevation, transportation, roads, railroads and more) |
| USAID - GIST portal (login needed - it is free) | West Bank | 2004-2009 | shapefiles (airports, settlements, land cover, roads, railroags and more) |
| USAID - GIST portal (login needed - it is free) | Lebanon | 2004-2006 | shapefiles (airports, electric network, flood risk areas, industries, roads and more) |
| USAID - GIST portal (login needed - it is free) | Jordan | 2004 | shapefiles (airports, railroads, roads, land cover and more) |
Available post-disaster data
| Provider | Area | Date | Type and Link |
| International Charter on Space and Major Disasters | all maps (International Charter on Space and Major Disasters) | ||
| International Charter on Space and Major Disasters | Gaza City to Bayt Lahiya Area | 19.12.2013 | Analysis with Pleiades data |
| International Charter on Space and Major Disasters | Gaza - Jibaliya Area | 19.12.2013 | Flooded areas (based on Pleiades data) |
| International Charter on Space and Major Disasters | Dayr-Al-Balah area, Gaza | 19.12.2013 | Flooded areas (based on Pleiades data) |
| International Charter on Space and Major Disasters | Dayr-Al-Balah to Jarara area, Gaza | 19.12.2013 | Flooded areas (based on Pleiades data) |
| UNOSAT | all maps (UNOSAT) | ||
| UNOSAT | West Bank And Jordan | 15-16.12.2013 | Snow Cover Extent (based on MODIS) |
| NASA | 30E40N | near real time | MODIS flood map (experimental science product) |
Further Information
More information on how to activate emergency mechnisms is available under Space Application.
Emergency assistance can also be requested from esri.
More information on data sources is available under Links and Ressources.
related GLIDE numbers: CW-2013-000153-PSE, CW-2013-000153-ISR, CW-2013-000153-JOR, CW-2013-000153-LBN
