Overview of the Disaster and Objectives

From late November to early December 2025, Sri Lanka experienced its most severe flooding in decades following the passage of Cyclone Ditwah. The system brought prolonged and intense rainfall, triggering deadly landslides in the central hill country and widespread inundation across 25 districts. According to the Joint Rapid Needs Assessment (JRNA) released on 02 December, the disaster has resulted in catastrophic impacts with 410 confirmed fatalities and hundreds reported missing.

Overview of the Disaster and Objectives

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