Satellite Flood Intelligence Tapped for Florida Hurricane Preparedness
SAR-Based Platform Has Tracked More Than 18 Florida Flood Events Since 2022
Florida’s statewide flood research network has signed an agreement with ICEYE to deploy satellite-based flood monitoring tools across the state’s emergency management agencies and water management districts ahead of hurricane season.
“Hurricane season in the U.S. impacts dozens of states, and we recognize Florida as a leader when it comes to adopting innovative approaches to disaster response and resilience.”
Andy Read, ICEYE
The Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation, hosted by the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science and funded through the Resilient Florida Trust Fund, will use three ICEYE platforms — Flood Early Warning, Flood Insights, and Flood Rapid Impact — to support preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience operations statewide.
ICEYE operates the world’s largest synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, satellite constellation. SAR imaging can penetrate cloud cover and operate day or night — capabilities that conventional aerial and optical assessments cannot match when hurricanes are active. The company has tracked more than 18 flood events in Florida since 2022.
Florida state agencies began using ICEYE data during Hurricane Ian in 2022. The partnership continued through Hurricanes Debby, Milton, and Helene in 2024.
“This partnership strengthens our ability to support emergency managers with timely, actionable data on flooding when it matters most, while also guiding efforts to improve resilience for our flood-prone communities,” said Dr. Charles Jacoby, Associate Director of the Florida Flood Hub. “With ICEYE’s satellite-based insights, we can provide teams with a consistent view of the likely and actual impacts of flooding, which is needed for coordinated response and recovery operations, as well as valuable insights to guide long-term strategies to mitigate damage and increase resilience.”
The three ICEYE tools serve distinct operational roles. Flood Insights provides continuous monitoring of flood depth and extent from multiple data sources. Flood Rapid Impact delivers rolling updates and automated analysis as an event progresses. Flood Early Warning is designed to give responders lead time before conditions deteriorate.
The Flood Hub coordinates data, research, and tools across government agencies at all levels, academic and research institutions, private partners, and nongovernmental organizations. Its mandate is to compile, customize, and create data that support decisions on flood resilience — a role that extends well beyond storm response into long-term land use and infrastructure planning.
“Hurricane season in the U.S. impacts dozens of states, and we recognize Florida as a leader when it comes to adopting innovative approaches to disaster response and resilience,” said Andy Read, vice president of Global Government Solutions at ICEYE. “By integrating satellite-powered flood intelligence, Florida is setting an example of how states can use data to better protect communities before, during, and after disasters.”