Flooding struck multiple water bodies in the Canadian province of Manitoba in June 2011. Lake Manitoba, Dauphin Lake, Lake St. Martin, and the Assiniboine River were all visibly swollen when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite passed overhead on June 11, 2011 (top). For comparison, the bottom image shows the same area on June 13, 2010.
In these false-color images, water is blue, vegetation is green, and clouds are pale blue-green. Water appears to have spilled over the banks of lakes throughout the region. Higher water is especially apparent in Lake Manitoba, and on either side of the southern end of that lake.
On June 14, 2011, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that authorities attributed flooding in Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin to “a one-in-350-year flood along parts of the Assiniboine River.” Whereas parts of this river disappear from view in June 2010, the Assiniboine appears swollen and visible throughout a large arc west and south of Lake Manitoba in 2011 (image lower left).
References & Resources
- Kutsch, L. (2011, June 14). No quick fix to Lake Manitoba flooding trouble: Ashton. Winnipeg Free Press.
NASA images courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.
