Cities in Emilia-Romagna, a region in northern Italy, have been hit by severe flooding after heavy rainfall over the weekend. The flooding affected Bologna (not pictured), and other cities in the surrounding area including Modena and Reggio Emilia.

Flooded areas across the region are visible in this multi-temporal image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission between 8 and 20 October 2024. The comparison uses an image from 8 October (before the floods) and one from 20 October (after the floods). The blue areas highlight the areas impacted by flooding.

In response, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service has been activated to produce detailed maps of the affected areas. There has also been heavy rain and storms in other parts of Italy, particularly Sicily, where landslides and fallen trees have blocked roads.

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, with its ability to penetrate cloud cover and frequent revisit times, is ideal for flood monitoring, enabling the assessment of flood extent and its impact on people and the environment.