6 October 2020

Saint-Martin-Vesubie: Planet Labs images of the aftermath of the extraordinary flooding from Storm Alex

Posted by Dave Petley

Saint-Martin-Vesubie: Planet Labs images of the aftermath of the extraordinary flooding from Storm Alex

As I noted yesterday, Storm Alex generated extreme levels of rainfall across much of Europe at the weekend, causing extensive damage.  One of the locations that suffered the greatest impact was the village of Saint-Martin-Vesubie, located in the Alpes-Maritimes department to the north of Nice, and close to the border with Italy.  Planet Labs have very kindly captured some high resolution SkySat imagery of the impacts of the storm, and have made the images available to me.

This is a an image of the area around the village prior to the storm – the image was collected in September 2018:

Saint-Martin-Vesubie before the flooding

Planet Labs SkySat image of Saint-Martin-Vesubie before the flooding. Planet Labs SkySat image collected in September 2018, Copyright Planet Labs, used with permission.

 

.

This is the same area of Saint-Martin-Vesubie, after the flood:

Saint-Martin-Vesubie after the flooding

Planet Labs SkySat image of Saint-Martin-Vesubie before the flooding. Planet Labs SkySat image collected on 5 October 2020, Copyright Planet Labs, used with permission.

.

Note the very extensive damage along the channel to the west of the village.  Comparison of the two images suggests that several structures have been lost.  To me the level of change in the channel suggests more than simple flood damage, especially when compared to the channel to the east of the village.  I wonder if the channel upstream became blocked and then breached to generate this level of catastrophic flooding.

It is worth taking a look at the image in more detail.  This is the area in the immediate vicinity of the historic centre of Saint-Martin-Vesubie before the flood:-

Saint-Martin-Vesubie before the flooding

Planet Labs SkySat image of Saint-Martin-Vesubie before the flooding. Planet Labs SkySat image collected in September 2018, Copyright Planet Labs, used with permission.

.

This is the same area after the flood:

Saint-Martin-Vesubie after the flooding

Planet Labs SkySat image of Saint-Martin-Vesubie before the flooding. Planet Labs SkySat image collected on 5 October 2020, Copyright Planet Labs, used with permission.

.

Quickslide 1: Imagery of the Barry Arm rockslide in Alaska

NASA has posted a very nice article, with some excellent images, of the Barry Arm rockslide in Alaska.  It is easy to see from these images why this site is such a concern.

.

Quickslide 2: Gender and natural disasters

The ever excellent Nepali Times has a good article on why natural disasters in Nepal kill more women than men. The conclusion is that “Women bear the brunt of most disasters like floods, earthquakes and landslides in Nepal because the countryside has been ‘feminised’ by the outmigration of men. And it is the women who tend to be inside the house more often than men”. In addition, “women have less access to information and seldom participate in disaster learning skills. Socio-cultural perceptions of sexuality and traditional beliefs about gender responsibility also put women at greater risk in disasters.”

These are really important issues; addressing them needs to be a part of the ways in which communities build resilience to natural disasters.

.

Reference and acknowledgement

Planet Team (2020). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://www.planet.com/

Thanks to my friends at Planet Labs for collecting the images and making them available to me.