The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of flooding along the Siret River in eastern Romania on July 29, 2008. Filled with sediment, the flood-swollen river is light blue in this false-color image. Clearer water is black or dark blue, as seen in the pre-flood scene shown on the right. Both images were created with a combination of infrared and visible light to increase the contrast between water and the surrounding landscape. Vegetated land is green, while land with little plant cover is tan. Regions that have recently burned are red, and clouds are light blue and white.
The floods came in the wake of heavy rains, which fell over northern Romania in mid-July. Water levels on both the Siret and the Prut Rivers (along the border with Ukraine, north of the area shown in this image) were at their highest levels in 200 years, reported Reuters on July 29. The floods forced 13,000 from their homes and left four dead, said Reuters. The rains also caused extensive flooding in Ukraine.
NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
