Relentless rain pounded Queensland for several weeks in January and February 2019. When the clouds finally moved out, satellites got a clear look at the widespread flooding across the Australian state.
These images show flood waters in North West Queensland along the myriad rivers that flow toward the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired the first image (left) on January 7, 2019. The second image (right) from Terra MODIS shows the same area on February 10. The false-color images were composed from a combination of infrared and visible light (MODIS bands 7-2-1). Water appears dark and light blue; bare ground is brown; and vegetation is bright green. This band combination makes it easier to see changes in river dimensions.
As of February 10, flood warnings were in effect for the Flinders, Leichhardt, Norman, Nicholson, Gregory, and Gilbert rivers. According to news reports, flooding along the Flinders River was the worst in 50 years. Water spilled from its catchment and merged with floodwater in adjacent river catchments.
The floods in this rural part of Australia meant huge losses for farmers. After working to keep herds alive during years of drought, farmers have now have lost significant numbers of cattle to the flood. The exact numbers are still uncertain, but there are reports of farmers losing entire herds. Estimates of total cattle killed are on the order of hundreds of thousands.
(Exert from NASA Earth Observatory, view original report HERE.)
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