Photo credits: DestinE.

SaferPlaces has been featured on the Destination Earth (DestinE) platform for its contribution to flood emergency management during the devastating Emilia-Romagna floods of 2023.

The publication highlights how SaferPlaces supported the Civil Protection Agency of the Emilia-Romagna region through the rapid generation of satellite-based flood extent and water depth maps, combining Copernicus Earth Observation data, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Twin technologies.

A Real-World Demonstration of European Space Technologies

The Emilia-Romagna floods of May 2023 were among the most severe hydrometeorological disasters experienced in Europe in recent decades. More than 100 municipalities were affected, over 35,000 people were displaced, 23 rivers overflowed, and damages exceeded €8.8 billion.
During the emergency response and recovery phases, the Emilia-Romagna Civil Protection used the SaferPlaces platform to rapidly assess the extent and impacts of flooding across the region. Satellite observations from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, together with commercial Earth Observation missions and AI-powered analytics, enabled the production of detailed flood maps at the scale of single buildings.
These products supported emergency coordination, impact assessment, economic loss estimation and the preparation of documentation required for national and European recovery funding requests.

AI-Powered Flood Mapping from Space

At the core of the solution is SaferSat, the Earth Observation module of the SaferPlaces platform.
SaferSat uses advanced neural-network algorithms to analyse Sentinel-1 SAR imagery, automatically detecting flood-induced changes even under cloud cover and during night-time conditions. The resulting flood extent maps are integrated with high-resolution terrain models and additional satellite data sources to generate operational flood depth information for emergency managers.
The publication reports a strong agreement between SaferPlaces products and Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) flood maps, demonstrating the robustness of AI-enhanced flood mapping approaches for operational use.

Recognition within Europe’s Digital Twin Vision

The publication on the Destination Earth (DestinE) Ecosystem is particularly significant because DestinE represents one of the European Union’s flagship initiatives for developing highly accurate digital replicas of the Earth system.
By showcasing the Emilia-Romagna experience, the article demonstrates how Earth Observation data, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twin technologies can already deliver tangible benefits for disaster risk reduction, emergency management and climate resilience.
As climate-related hazards become more frequent and severe, solutions such as SaferPlaces are helping public authorities move from reactive crisis management towards proactive, intelligence-driven resilience planning.

Looking Ahead

Building on the success of the Emilia-Romagna deployment, SaferPlaces is expanding its capabilities towards:

  • Near real-time flood forecasting;
  • AI-powered impact estimation;
  • Climate resilience analytics;
  • Global flood intelligence services;
  • Agentic AI Digital Twins supporting emergency management before, during and after extreme events.

The recognition by the Destination Earth Ecosystem confirms the growing role of operational Earth Observation and AI technologies in supporting safer and more resilient communities across Europe and beyond.

Read the story on the Destination Earth portal: https://dea.destine.eu/web/stories/viewer/69ef63f2d14c22093cb7b645

The map shows a 3D representation of the evening of 16 May 2023, when the Lamone River broke its banks, rapidly inundating large parts of the city of Faenza.
The map shows two complementary layers for the municipality of Faenza: on the right, the simulated flood water depth at peak inundation on 17 May 2023; on the left, the estimated economic damage to buildings and infrastructure.