1. Home
  2. Disasters

Disasters

Determining where, when, and how natural hazards may vary and affect people at the global scale is fundamental to formulating mitigation strategies, appropriate and timely responses, and robust recovery plans. Specifically, NASA near-real-time precipitation estimates are used for regional assessments of current and potential wildfires and landslide activity.

Mapping Landslide Hazards in Central America

Landslide Risk in Central America
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
On November 3, 2020, Hurricane Eta made landfall as one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit Central America in years. The category 4 storm destroyed hundreds of homes, killed more than 100 people, and brought torrential rains that triggered large and numerous landslides in Guatemala and Honduras. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Iota—an even more powerful category 4 storm—nearly retraced Eta’s path. Within hours of Eta’s landfall and flooding rains, researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center worked to predict landslides and map the storm’s aftermath. One team assessed potential
Read More

GPM Eyes Eta Over Florida

Hurricane Eta over Florida
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
After striking the northeast coast of Nicaragua as a powerful Category 4 storm back on November 3, Hurricane Eta weakened rapidly over Central America but still brought major flooding and triggered numerous landslides that so far have resulted in at least 250 fatalities across the region, according to media reports. Eta was down to a tropical depression when the center re-emerged over the northwestern Caribbean on the evening of November 5. An upper-level trough over the Gulf of Mexico first steered Eta northeastward towards Cuba on the 6th. Because it was disorganized after its trek across
Read More

Hurricane Eta Drenches Central America

Hurricane Eta IMERG Screenshot
Friday, November 6, 2020
The extremely active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, aided by the ongoing La Niña, continues on. After Hurricane Zeta made landfall along the northern part of the Gulf Coast, yet another hurricane has arisen - Hurricane Eta, the strongest of the season. Like Zeta, Eta also formed in the Caribbean, where sea surface temperatures are still running quite warm at around 29° C, almost a full degree above average and well above the typical 26° C needed for tropical cyclone development. But while Zeta turned north into the Gulf of Mexico, Eta moved westward where it delivered powerful winds and
Read More

NASA Prepares for Hurricane Zeta

GPM Overpass of Hurricane Zeta on 10/28/20
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
As Hurricane Zeta moves towards landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast, NASA has eyes on the storm with an array of Earth-observing instruments and stands ready to aid affected communities with critical data and analysis. Zeta is following a path similar to Hurricane Delta, which after crossing the Yucatan Peninsula made its way across the Gulf of Mexico and struck the Louisiana coast as a Category 2 hurricane on October 9. If Zeta makes landfall as expected along the northern Gulf Coast, it will become the 7th named storm to do so in this record-breaking season, following Tropical Storm Cristobal
Read More

Satellites Have Drastically Changed How We Forecast Hurricanes

Hurricane Forecasting Screenshot
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
The powerful hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900, killing an estimated 8,000 people and destroying more than 3,600 buildings, took the coastal city by surprise. This video looks at advances in hurricane forecasting in the 120 years since, with a focus on the contributions from weather satellites. This satellite technology has allowed us to track hurricanes – their location, movement and intensity. “One of the dramatic impacts is that satellite data keeps an eye on the target," especially over unpopulated areas such as oceans, said JPSS Director Greg Mandt. “We’re sort...
Read More

Building Climate Resilience with Satellite Data

Farmers looking at an App
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Unexpected shocks from natural hazards can affect populations throughout the globe, threatening sustainable development and resilience. However, the impacts of these events, such as extreme precipitation or drought, disproportionately affect the developing world where individuals often are not insured and live and work in conditions that leave them vulnerable to natural disasters. This can lead to significant economic and environmental challenges if preventive measures or mitigating measures are not taken in time. To reduce risks from natural disasters and build climate resilience, decision...
Read More

Landslides

Photograph of a landslide on a mountain.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Landslides are a widespread and often underestimated natural hazard, causing thousands of deaths and significant economic damage each year. They routinely block roads, destroy infrastructure, and disrupt communities. Intense or prolonged rainfall is the most common landslide trigger, but earthquakes and human activities can also cause them. Using satellite data, models, and citizen science reports, NASA researchers have developed a collection of tools and datasets to improve our understanding of landslides and help communities around the world monitor, predict, and respond to these destructive events.
Read More

Climate Change and Landslide Risk in Asia

Landslide Risk in High Mountain Asia
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
More frequent and intense rainfall events due to climate change could cause more landslides in the High Mountain Asia region of China, Tibet and Nepal, according to the first quantitative study of the link between precipitation and landslides in the region. The model shows landslide risk for High Mountain Asia increasing in the summer months in the years 2061-2100, thanks to increasingly frequent and intense rainfall events. Summer monsoon rains can destabilize steep mountainsides, triggering landslides. Credits: NASA's Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens High Mountain Asia stores more fresh...
Read More

Rain Brought Brief Relief to Australia

Rain Brought Brief Relief to Australia
Monday, January 27, 2020
For much of the 2019-2020 austral summer, plumes of bushfire smoke have billowed from southeastern Australia in such large amounts that the ground was barely visible in satellite images. In mid-January, some of those plumes were finally quelled by a few days of much-needed rainfall.
Read More

GPM Data Tracks Landslides in Bangladesh

GPM Data Mitigates Landslide Risks in Bangladesh
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Camp managers and other local officials overseeing Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are now incorporating NASA satellite observations into their decision making in order to reduce the risk to refugees from landslides and other natural hazards. Information like daily rain totals can help inform how to lay out refugee camps and store supplies. More than 740,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017. Many of them have sought shelter in camps located in the hilly countryside, where landslide risk may be the greatest. Increasing this danger is Bangladesh’s intense monsoon season. Approximately 80 percent of Bangladesh's yearly rain falls in just five months, from June to October, bringing with it an increased risk of flash flooding and landslides.
Read More
Subscribe to Disasters