Date: 1 July 2025
Location: Paysandú, Uruguay
Credit: Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, processed by the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre
Description:
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows Paysandú, Uruguay, as it appeared on 1 July 2025 during a flooding event.
In the image, several areas along the Uruguay River appear inundated, while the river itself displays an orange-brown colour caused by high concentrations of suspended sediments carried downstream by the floodwaters. Such sediment loads are typical during flood events, when intense rainfall wash soil into the river system. This event displaced around 150 people, highlighting the vulnerability of riverine cities like Paysandú, where heavy rains can cause rivers to overflow its banks and inundate surrounding areas.
These events are also common because of Uruguay’s climate: the country records an average of 1,300 millimetres of rainfall per year, although in some years this figure is exceeded due to the influence of El Niño, a climate phenomenon characterised by warmer temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean causing an increase on rainfall across the region. This abundance of precipitation also explains why floods are the most frequent and impactful hazard in the country.
Given these conditions, it is essential to rely on data-driven solutions which strengthen planning and improve responses to such events. In this context, the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre is co-developing tailored Earth Observation services, powered by the free and open data from Copernicus to support national institutions improving early warning systems, risk planning, and post-event recovery efforts.
The Centre also promotes capacity building, providing practical training and learning resources through its Copernicus LAC Panama Digital Campus. Registered users can access previous training sessions, such as the course “Remote Sensing Applied to Flood Monitoring” which not only equips participants with the necessary technical skills but also cultivates a holistic understanding of the socio-economic and environmental dimensions inherent in effective flood control.
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Background Information
The Copernicus LAC Panama Centre’s activities take place within the overall context of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, which is a strategic framework for promoting cooperation between the EU and the LAC region on digital and space issues under the EU Global Gateway umbrella. Within this context, the European Space Agency (ESA) is coordinating the Centre’s implementation on the basis of a Contribution Agreement with the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission, and in close collaboration with Panama’s government, MIRE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Government Innovation Authority (AIG), and SENACYT (National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation).
The CopernicusLAC Panama Centre will serve as a hub for innovation in the Latin America and Caribbean region, supporting national and local entities in leveraging Copernicus data and information to boost socio-economic benefits and resilience. In addition to providing engagement opportunities, the Centre is developing geospatial Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Earth Observation (EO) Services (addressing hydrometeorological hazards, wildfires, geological hazards, and hazard exposure) in close collaboration with local users and stakeholders, to whom they will be handed over to ensure that the unique needs of the region are addressed in the long term.
In addition, knowledge and skills transfer is a key element of the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre, which hosts a Digital Campus with access to training modules and educational resources for technical users and citizens alike. The Centre will also organise community-building events, policy dialogues and industry matchmaking, as well as hackathons and other EO data challenges to stimulate user adoption of Copernicus data and innovation. These events will also foster cross-collaboration among EO, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and other relevant ecosystems.
Finally, the Centre will support the development of a high-power computing and data storage cloud infrastructure for the LAC region. One of the final objectives of the Centre is to promote the development of communities of practice and to strengthen the knowledge and use of tools for DRR and other application areas in the public sector, academia, the private sector, and social organisations.
