In late March 2003, heavy rains in Zambia led to floods that displaced over 10,000 people and destroyed thousands of valuable acres of farmland. The floods can be seen in this false-color image (right) acquired on March 27, 2003, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra spacecraft. The most devastating floods occurred in the southern part of Zambia. The loss of cattle and crops in the floods has exacerbated a food shortage due to recent droughts. The food shortage could potentially affect over two million people in the small country.
During dry season (left, acquired by MODIS Aqua on October 21, 2002), there is hardly any standing water in southern and western Zambia. In this false-color image, water is black. Clouds appear as pale blue and white, and land is green and tan.
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Image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA-GSFC
