Overview of the Disaster and Objectives

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October 2025 as a Category 5 storm, bringing extreme rainfall, destructive winds, and severe storm surge that triggered widespread flooding and landslides across the island. According to the U.S.

Vandenberg Space Force Base, 17 November 2025 – The Copernicus Sentinel-6B satellite launched at 06:21 CET aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, marking the arrival of the latest satellite dedicated to monitoring global sea-level rise. The spacecraft entered orbit just under an hour after liftoff, and ESA’s European Space Operations Centre received its first signal at 07:54 CET via the Inuvik ground station in Canada, confirming the satellite was functioning as expected.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) HydroGNSS mission will launch on 26 November, 2025 at 19:18 CET aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission is part of a rideshare that will deploy satellites from Italy’s IRIDE program and two radar satellites developed under Greece’s National Small Satellite Programme, significantly expanding Europe’s environmental and hazard-monitoring capacity.

Monitoring the Global Water Cycle with HydroGNSS

Disaster Overview

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border on 31 August 2025, with its epicentre in Kuz Kunar District, Kunar Province, at a shallow depth of about 8–10 km. The quake killed at least 800 people and injured over 2,800, mainly in Kunar and Nangarhar, destroying many villages. Landslides and blocked roads hindered rescue operations, though helicopters evacuated hundreds of victims. Aftershocks, including two of magnitude 5.2, further complicated recovery.

Researchers at James Cook University (JCU) in Australia have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that merges two types of satellite imagery to better detect and assess oil spills at sea. The method combines synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) to identify spills more accurately and estimate their thickness, offering a new tool for environmental monitoring and disaster response.

The Training Workshop and Youth Forum on Innovative Geospatial Information Applications for Disaster Resilience and Response was held on 22–23 October 2025 in Deqing and Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, China. UN-SPIDER, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (RCSSTEAP), the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), and the United Nations Global Geographic Information Knowledge and Innovation Center (UN-GGKIC) jointly organized the workshop.

Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm with wind speeds surpassing 150 miles per hour, is rapidly approaching Jamaica and is expected to cause widespread destruction across the island. The storm’s eye is projected to pass west of the country, but its northern side, which carries the strongest winds and rainfall, is forecast to inflict severe damage. Jamaica’s mountainous terrain increases the risk of flash floods, landslides, and significant infrastructure losses.