Pakistan Deadly Floods: Strasbourg's SERTIT reveals Danger to more Urban Areas at the eve of EU tour

Even more Urban areas seem threatened from the 1.100 Mass Killer, unprecedented Floods which made more than one Million of Displaced in N/W. Pakistan, close to Afghanistan Borders at the crossroads of inundated Rivers, as it results from the 1st Rapid Map urgently prepared with Satellite Images by EU sponsored Strasbourg-based SERTIT Laboratory Experts, and this obviously aggravates risks after EU Crisis' Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva's earlier warning that more Rain was forecast.    

    EU promissed 30 Millions € of Humanitarian Aid in addition to USA's 15 Millions $, to face Record-High Deadly Floods never seen before for a Century, which stroke the Country together with Last Week's Press leakage of classified US Documents accusing  some Pakistani Officers to go soft with Al Quaida Islamic Exremists, following also recent Deadly Terrorist Attacks even inside a Mosquee, shortly after it was anounced, a few Days ago, that Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, the 2008-elected widow of Murdered former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, will start an EU tour by meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris tomorrow, Monday, August 2, at 5 pm. local time, to speak on Defence/Security and Economy issues, before heading to the UK on Wednesday, to address the Pakistani community and meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron despite a row sparked from controversial statements earlier in Turkey on Pakistan's role in the fight against Terrorism.     

Apparently implying that Risks might be even Worse for People living on the spot, SERTIT moreaover warned to use its 1st rapid Map from the on-going event "with Precaution", noting that its "Exhaustivity is not guaranteed, particularly on Urban areas".

    Rapid Mapping Experts of Strasbourg's SERTIT, a spin-off from Space University and Engineers' activities specialized on Earth Observation Satellites,  have a large Experience in responding to EU (mainly in the framework of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, GMES Program), UNO, European States, a.o. Urgent demands to prepare accurate Maps based on Satellite Images in 6 Hours Time after an Exceptional Natural or Manmade Disaster (f.ex. Earthquake, Storms, Floods, War or other Conflict, etc), not only in Europe, but also thoughout the whole World, (f.ex. from Turkey's Ismit 1999,  Iran's Bam 2003 and Haiti's 2009 Earthquakes, up to 2004 Asian Tsunami, the 2005 USA's Katrina Storm, Sudan's Darfur, etc).


     - "Record Flooding" is "specially along the Kabul River", coming right from Afghanistan, "in the North-Western part of the Country", observes SERTIT, speaking of a High Plateau area bordering Afghanistan, where the Kabul and Indu Rivers meet together.

    -  "The Main City of the area, Peshawar, is Isolated by water", the Strasbourg-based Experts add, referring mainly to the Road Communications towards the Capital City of Islamabad, at the Eastern side of Indu River, which crosses through the Country's center, cutting it in Two Parts, until the far away Sea Port of Karachi.

    In addition to the heaviest-striken City of Nowshera, SERTIT's Map shows that several other various Urban areas appear in Danger, such as, f.ex., Peshawar"s suburbs, Charsadda, Pabbi, Risalpur, Dumrai, Barotha (close to Attock), as well as Numerous Smaller Groupings of Houses all along the Kabul and Indus Rivers.

    However, SERTIT's first Map, (resulting from RadarSat-2 Space Satellite Images, taken on July 31st), clearly shows also that even the Main Pakistani River, Indu, (located between Peshawar and Islamabad, and crossing throughout all the Country up to the Sea) , is much more inundated with "Observed Flood Traces", obviously threatening to eventually cut the whole Country into 2 "parts separated by flood's water:

An Eastern part, where most Cities (including the Capital Islamabad) and Roads are concentrated, and a Western part, more Rural, where most Tribal areas are located, bordering Afghanistan.

G - 8 Global Heads of State/Government Summit in Heiligendam (Germany) since June 2007 had already decided a Program to help Pakistan's Tribal Borderline Areas on Health a.o. issues, supported mainly by the German and French Govenment, which takes over the forthcoming G8 - G20+ Annual Chairmanship from November 2010.

A series of key EU Summits and other Top Gatherings on Foreign Policy, Science and Technology Strategy, Security and Research activities, etc. are expected on October 2010, including on Environment, Civil Protection and possible related developments on High-Tech. to be used in EU Crisis' response and/or Humanitarian Missions, both inside Europe and all over the World.  (Comp. EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva's relevant statements to "EuroFora", earlier at EU Parliament in Strasbourg : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/eucommissionergeorgievaandmassue.html ) 

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