Worldview Image of the Week

Extensive Flooding in Pakistan

Image of a three-day flood composite ending Aug 30, 2022, from the MODIS instruments aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites.

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Flooding in Pakistan on 30 August 2023 from the MODIS instrument aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites

 

 

The comparison map shows a false-color corrected reflectance image (Bands 7-2-1) of flooding in Pakistan on August 30, 2022 on the left "A" side; on the right, "B" side, is the Flood 3-day window composite ending on August 30, 2022. These images are from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The flooding has been caused by eight consecutive weeks of rainfall, and a significant portion of the country is currently covered by floodwaters, according to The Washington Post.

Swipe the bar back and forth to see how the dark blue flood waters in the left image coincide with the red flood pixels shown on the right side. The Flood 3-day window composite is created via the following three key steps: (1) water detection algorithm applied to each MODIS observation; (2) compositing of these water detections over time to reduce errors and more rigorously identify water; and (3) differentiating flood from expected surface water.

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Dataset: MCDWD_L3_NRT doi:10.5067/MODIS/MCDWD_L3_NRT.061

Reference: Shih, G., Hussain, S., & Jeong, A. (August 30, 2022). Pakistan reels from 'apocalyptic' floods, pleads for international aid. The Washington Post.

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