February 1, 2021 - Flooding in Mozambique

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   Flooding in Mozambique
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   On January 23, 2021, Mozambique was struck by Tropical Cyclone Eloise.
   The storm came ashore near Beira, the capital and largest city of
   Sofala Province, in central Mozambique carrying maximum sustained winds
   of about 87 mph (140 km/h). This would place it as a Category 1 storm
   on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. While the wind caused
   damage, particularly near landfall, Eloise also carried extreme rains
   which has led to widespread severe flooding.

   On January 24, Mozambique’s National Institute of Meteorology (INAM)
   reported that Beira received 250 mm (13.8 in) of rain in 24 hours. A
   situation report published on ReliefWeb on January 31 stated,
   “Preliminary reports from the Government’s disaster management agency –
   the Instituto Nacional de Gestão Redução do Risco de Desastres (INGD) –
   indicate over 300,000 people affected, including more than 20,000
   internally displaced persons (IDPs) and over 33,600 persons evacuated,
   while more 26,000 houses have been destroyed, damaged or flooded. As
   announced by the INGD, these numbers could rise in the coming days
   ahead as the full extent of the damage becomes known.” At least six
   people have died and 12 were injured by the storm and flooding—numbers
   that are considered preliminary.

   On January 28, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
   (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a false-color image of
   central Madagascar. This type of image uses a combination of infrared
   and visible light (MODIS bands 7,2,1) to accentuate contrast between
   water (dark inky blue) and vegetation (bright green).

   The severely flooded river in the south is the Pungwe River. To the
   north, the Sangussi River also appears badly flooded. The city of Beira
   sits on the estuary where the Pungwe River pours into the Mozambique
   Channel. It can be seen as a cluster of gray pixels on the northern
   side of the estuary, surrounded on three sides by dark water.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Aqua
   Date Acquired: 1/28/2021
   Resolutions:  1km (32.7 KB),  500m (108 KB),  250m (329.9 KB)
   Bands Used: 7,2,1
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-02-01
 
