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September 14, 2008 - The Brahmaputra River floods Northeast India
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More than 1.2 million people felt the impact when the Brahmaputra River of northeastern India and Bangladesh pushed over its banks in September 2008, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The river floods regularly during the annual monsoon rains. It had reached a dangerous peak when the MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this rare, cloud-free view on September 7, 2008. The river was just starting to swell above dry-season levels when Aqua MODIS captured the secondary image on August 8, 2008, which you will see if you move your mouse over the main image.
The images were made with infrared and visible light so that water is dark blue or black in contrast to the bright green plant-covered land. When seen from above by human eyes, the muddy water and the land would blend together, but this combination of light, not normally seen by people, creates contrast between water and land. In both images, clouds (light blue and white) dot the sky on either side of the river, but the view of the river is unobstructed.
The flooded river buried nearly 170 villages in waist-deep water, reported BBC news. Kaziranga National Park, home to tigers, elephants, panthers, bears, and the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, was also more than 50 percent flooded, said BBC.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 09/07/2008 and 08/08/2008
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
More than 1.2 million people felt the impact when the Brahmaputra River of northeastern India and Bangladesh pushed over its banks in September 2008, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The river floods regularly during the annual monsoon rains. It had reached a dangerous peak when the MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this rare, cloud-free view on September 7, 2008. The river was just starting to swell above dry-season levels when Aqua MODIS captured the secondary image on August 8, 2008, which you will see if you move your mouse over the main image.
The images were made with infrared and visible light so that water is dark blue or black in contrast to the bright green plant-covered land. When seen from above by human eyes, the muddy water and the land would blend together, but this combination of light, not normally seen by people, creates contrast between water and land. In both images, clouds (light blue and white) dot the sky on either side of the river, but the view of the river is unobstructed.
The flooded river buried nearly 170 villages in waist-deep water, reported BBC news. Kaziranga National Park, home to tigers, elephants, panthers, bears, and the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, was also more than 50 percent flooded, said BBC.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 09/07/2008 and 08/08/2008
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
