e members, was activated May 31 to provide Texas Emergency Management rapid access to Landsat and other satellite data for assessing the extent of damage and helping with disaster response.
With the rain expected to continue, future Landsat acquisitions will be important for that response. After almost 20 inches had fallen over parts of Texas since late May, NWS forecasters predicted up to 10 additional inches of precipitation by June 3, which would exacerbate flooding conditions along the flat, low-lying landscape of suburban Houston.
Landsat 8 Imagery Reveals Heavy Flooding in Sri Lanka May 24, 2016
On May 18, 2016, a Landsat 8 acquisition of flood-ravaged Sri Lanka produced impressive imagery of swollen waterways.
A pattern of torrential rain that began May 15 in the island country just off the southern tip of India has caused massive landslides and flooding, the latter of which is evident when compared to a March 31, 2016, satellite image. Both of the images resulted from data acquired by the shortwave, near-infrared, and red bands (6,5,4) on Landsat 8’s Operational Land Imager.
Officials in Sri Lanka’s national Disaster Management Center say the heaviest rains in a quarter century forced 200,000 people out of the low-lying parts of the country’s capital in Colombo, sent 400,000 fleeing to state-run relief camps, and covered entire villages in walls of mud. A history of clearing forests for agricultural use in Sri Lanka is a potential contributor to the destruction caused by the heavy rains and ensuing flooding.
The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, of which USGS and EROS are members, was activated May 17 to provide Sri Lanka’s government rapid access to Landsat and other satellite data for assessing the extent of damage and helping with disaster response. Future Landsat acquisitions will be part of this response.
Landsat 8 Shows Burn Extent, Active Fire at Fort McMurray May 13, 2016
Eleven days after a wildfire first sparked south of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, Landsat 8’s Operational Land Imager (OLI) captured imagery of one of the most destructive infernos in Canadian history. The fire has burned an area approaching 600,000 acres.
The May 12, 2016, false-color image relies on shortwave infrared, near infrared, and red light (OLI bands 7-5-4) to show hazy blue smoke, bright orange active burning spots, and a reddish-brown burn scar that surrounds Fort McMurray as it extends east and south toward the Saskatchewan border. It is a stark contrast from the pre-fire image acquired by Landsat 8 on October 17, 2015.
Alberta officials report that nearly 10 percent of Fort McMurray was destroyed by the fire, which started May 1 south of the city. Hot weather, dry vegetation, and strong winds spread the fire quickly. The cause has yet to be determined.
So far, over 2,400 structures have been destroyed in and around Fort McMurray. At least another 500 were damaged in the city, and many of the structures still standing suffered smoke damage.
Staff from the U.S. Geological Survey are assisting the Provincial Operations Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, by providing Landsat imagery that shows the fire’s progress, and post-fire burn severity assessments that are expected to provide information of value during post-fire mitigation activities.
Wildfire Forces Evacuations in Fort McMurray, Alberta May 6, 2016
A massive wildfire burning near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, fueled by dry conditions and high winds, has destroyed 1,600 structures and forced more than 88,000 people to evacuate the area so far.
On May 3, 2016, Landsat 8 acquired data of the inferno, which razed neighborhoods within Fort McMurray. Using shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near infrared (NIR) bands to help penetrate clouds and smoke and create false-color imagery, Landsat shows the active fires’ hot spots, which appear orange. Burned area is dark red, and smoke is hazy blue.
Two weeks before the fire started, on April 17, Landsat captured a much quieter scene of Fort McMurray and its surrounding landscape—home to the Athabasca oil san