Satellites monitor devastating floods in Spain from space (photo)

Satellite images have captured deadly flooding in eastern Spain caused by heavy rains on Tuesday (October 29).

Landsat and Maxar satellites recorded damage after more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain fell across the region, according to Spanish weather agency AEMET.

Landsat 8’s operational ground imager took a closer look at the area on Wednesday (October 30), tracking “sediment-laden waters” in the coastal city of Valencia, NASA officials said. (Landsat is jointly operated by NASA and the USGS.)

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“Sediment-laden floodwaters also filled the Turia River bed, which flows into the Balearic Sea – part of the Mediterranean Sea – and the coastal wetlands of L’Albufera south of the city,” NASA said in a statement.

The aftermath of flooding in Valencia, Spain, as seen on Maxar satellite imagery, October 31, 2024. (Image credit: Satellite image © Maxar Technologies 2024)

Anthropogenic climate change may be partly responsible for the severity of the flooding. According to the Global Climate Change report from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, human activity will cause a whopping 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming in 2023.

A canal in Valencia, Spain, as seen on Maxar satellite image on October 31, 2024. (Image credit: Satellite image © Maxar Technologies 2024)

Activities such as burning fossil fuels create greenhouse gases such as methane or carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere.

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These gases reduce the ability of heat to escape our planet, which in turn causes more extreme weather events such as floods and hurricanes.

A mud-choked waterway in Valencia, Spain, captured in Maxar satellite imagery on October 31, 2024. (Image credit: Satellite image © Maxar Technologies 2024)

The roads in Valencia are clogged with mud and silt. The debris is causing “extensive traffic congestion” that is “visible on many major roads in the area,” Maxar officials said in a statement.

“Transportation routes in the area,” they added, “have been significantly impacted by flood damage as many roads, bridges and highways remain blocked or impassable; Moreover, hundreds of cars and vehicles are scattered throughout the flooded areas of the city and suburbs.” “

Satellites monitor devastating floods in Spain from space (photo)

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