The International Charter: Space and Major Disasters has been activated for the third time in the last three months for flood events in the United Kingdom.
As UN-SPIDER reported, the International Charter was activated once back in December 2013 and once in January. The Environment Agency of England and Wales requested an activation for the third time on 6 February.
This time several rivers are flooding and/or are at risk of doing over the next couple of days. Areas like Somerset Levels and Moors have been flooded for over five weeks now. 413 homes have been flooded. Due to the extreme levels of soil saturation, further rainfall will only prolong the difficult conditions.
Existing flood defences are limiting the damage, and it is estimated that over a million of buildings have been protected from the floods. Army and volunteers are joining forces, providing assistance and relief operations.
Russia's space agency announced that it has supplied British authorities with fresh satellite images of the affected area. The Russian Resurs-P satellite is still observing the area and sending images that cover over 6,000 square kilometers on the ground.
