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3mo ago

NASA’s Airborne Missions Deliver Real-Time Flood Maps to Texas Responders

NASA is delivering near-real-time optical and radar flood imagery through its Disasters Mapping Portal to guide emergency teams.

Search and rescue team members look for missing people amid fallen trees by the Guadalupe River at Camp Mystic, in Hunt, Texas, U.S.
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The high-altitude WB-57 aircraft departed July 8 from Ellington Field in Houston for the Hill Country. The aircraft will use take video mosaics of the area to assist with the emergency response effort.

Overview

  • On July 8, a WB-57 jet equipped with the DyNAMITE sensor departed Ellington Field to capture high-resolution optical video mosaics of the Guadalupe River corridor.
  • Beginning July 9, UAVSAR radar flights aboard a Gulfstream III have been scanning the Guadalupe, San Gabriel and Colorado river basins to detect floodwaters concealed by vegetation.
  • Processed imagery and flood-extent models are uploaded to the NASA Disasters Mapping Portal within hours, enabling up-to-date situational awareness.
  • NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System is coordinating flight operations and data delivery with FEMA, the Texas Division of Emergency Management and local responders.
  • Emergency teams are using these live flood maps and infrastructure damage assessments to prioritize search, rescue and resource deployment across the Texas Hill Country.