China: Yangtze River Flood (July-August 1998)

(full image 704x793, 242Kb)	The image covers the flooded area around Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River. Ascending and descending ERS-2 SAR passes acquired on 7 July and 13 August 1998 are shown. These ERS-2 scenes have been acquired and processed by the China Remote Sensing Ground Station. Flooded areas are highlighted using image processing routines with multitemporal ERS SAR images. Different colours were assigned to distinguish the areas flooded on the 7th of July from those flooded on the 13th of August. Such images and techniques are being used for operational flood mapping and disaster assessment. Data are then integrated with land use maps within a GIS and losses are then evaluated at district and county level. The production of maps and statistics can be achieved within 48 hours of acquisition. Acknowledgements: ESA MSTC Co-operation Project; Remote Sensing Technology Application Centre, Ministry of Water Resources China; Remote Sensing Applications Consultants, UK.
(full image 672x635, 0.8 MB)	The image shows an area located about 200 km Southwest of Wuhan, one of the cities most damaged by the floods along the Yangtze River in China. The image was obtained by geocoding and superimposing an ERS SAR multitemporal data set (processed by DLR) onto a topographic map of the area. The ERS data used for the multitemporal image have been acquired by Ulan Bator ground station on 9/6/1993 (reference frame) and 1/8/1998 (during the flood event). Flooded zones are shown in light blue tones. Areas normally covered by water such as lakes, artificial basins and swamps are visible in dark blue or black colors. See also comments on the disaster and same SAR image before and after superimposition (August 1st, 1998 - June 9th, 1993) (Copyright © Eurimage - Earthwatching)
	Southwest from Wuham town. Click on the icon for high resolution multitemporal images, map and text (in German language). Acknowledgment:German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD) Copyright© ESA 1998 for the ERS data Copyright © German Aerospace Center (DLR) for image processing

Keywords: ESA European Space Agency - Agence spatiale europeenne, observation de la terre, earth observation, satellite remote sensing, teledetection, geophysique, altimetrie, radar, chimique atmospherique, geophysics, altimetry, radar, atmospheric chemistry