Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2026, V. 23, No. 2, pp. 415-423
Express assessment of flood consequences using non-commercial satellite data: A case study of local catastrophic flood hotspots in the Republic of Dagestan in spring 2026
1 Space Research Institute RAS, Moscow, Russia
Accepted: 24.04.2026
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2026-23-2-415-423
In the context of rapidly evolving natural disasters, the speed of assessment is just as critical as its accuracy for timely decision making and preliminary damage estimation. Open-source satellite data provide a cost-effective way to rapidly identify affected areas and evaluate the impact of hazardous events across vast territories. This study aims to analyze the potential of using non-commercial, freely available Earth observation data for rapid assessment of flooded zones, localized destruction, and their consequences, using the catastrophic flood in the Republic of Dagestan in March–April 2026 as a case study. During this period, heavy rainfall led to flooding of urban and rural areas, destruction of residential buildings, rockfalls, landslides, the breach of the Gedzhukh reservoir embankment, road washouts, and damage to bridges and urban infrastructure. This paper presents the results of a preliminary impact assessment of the flood.
Keywords: floods, satellite monitoring, open satellite data, satellite altimetry, Sentinel 3, Sentinel 6, Sentinel 2, Landsat, Sentinel 1, Meteor-M, Republic of Dagestan
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