ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO on Thursday said it provided satellite images of flood-hit areas to help prioritize the government’s relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Large areas of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, have been inundated after India opened all gates of its major dams in the Kashmir region following heavy rains, sending water surging into the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers.

At least 15 people have died in the latest spell of monsoon floods, with army units deployed for relief operations in the worst-hit districts, including Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara, Hafizabad and Sargodha.

“SUPARCO acquired pre- and post-satellite images of the affected areas, enabling authorities to clearly observe the situation,” the space agency said in a statement.

“These images showed submerged settlements, damaged roads and disrupted communications,” it continued. “Such space-based information is crucial in disaster management as it allows rapid assessment of the situation, identification of vulnerable zones and prioritization of relief and rehabilitation efforts.”

SUPARCO highlighted that it also made maps of crops and roads under potential exposure based on simulated flood extents.

The agency monitors natural disasters through its disaster watch portal, providing reliable space-based satellite information and continuous updates on the evolving situation in the three rivers.

It has also been using the National Catastrophe Modeling Project to provide risk assessment tools for floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones, tsunamis, landslides and earthquakes based on probability.

“This flagship initiative helps in disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction through mitigation and development of disaster risk financing strategies for Pakistan,” the statement said.

SUPARCO highlighted the importance of space-based information for disaster management in developing countries, where timely data is crucial for saving lives amid limited ground access.

Torrential rains along with flash floods, landslides and cloudbursts have killed 805 people across the country including 203 children and injured 1,107. Northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been the worst-hit, accounting for the majority of casualties.

Pakistan is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, experiencing erratic weather from droughts and heatwaves to record-breaking rainfall despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.