Assam floods through the eyes of ISRO

Large parts of Assam have been inundated and estimating the extent of flooding is always a very difficult task as roads get cut off and clouds and rain make helicopter sorties difficult. Remote sensing satellites offer a quick solution and India has immense capability in this sector. The Indian space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO, maintains a round the clock vigil in times of disasters deploying all 10 of its remote sensing satellites - the world largest number of satellites in the civilian domain with some of them which can penetrate clouds and even see at night.

The control of ISRO, situated in Hyderabad, sent out these images to the state governments and disaster management cells so that early relief can be provided. These images also help prioritise where relief is needed urgently.

This image shows the vast extent of flooding in the Brahmaputra basin, with the blue colour showing the flooded portion and the red the exposed land and white as cloud cover. (Image courtesy: Indian Space Research Organisation)

The contrast between floods and dry periods is very clear. The Majuli Island is marked on bottom left. Large parts are flooded and that can be seen in blue. (Image courtesy: Indian Space Research Organisation)

The extent of flooding in Kaziranga can be visualised by contrasting it with dry periods and floods. Rhinoceros deaths have been reported from Kaziranga. (Image courtesy: Indian Space Research Organisation)

The contrast between times of flood and dry period is very clear in this wide image of the Assam plains between Dhubri and Goalpara. (Image courtesy: Indian Space Research Organisation)

The fresh wave of flood has left 16 of Assam's 27 districts submerged. These flood-hit districts are - Baksa, Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivsagar, Sonitpur and Tinsukia. (Image courtesy: PTI)

According to a government report released on Tuesday, 1,916 villages in these 16 districts are reeling under flood water. As a result, more than 17 lakh people have been displaced, 18 have died and many others are missing. Close to four lakh have taken shelter at the 166 relief camps set up by the district administration. (Image courtesy: Kishalay Bhattacharjee)

The deluge has brought with it misery and colossal losses- lakhs of homes have been washed away, thousands of hectares of standing crop has been destroyed and roads and bridges have been damaged. (AFP image)

While lakhs of people in the state are fighting the devastating the flood, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is away in Japan on a study tour. He has reportedly now decided to cut short his visit and is expected to return today. He left for Japan on September 21 on a six-day trip as a member of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers. (Image courtesy: AFP)

The Chief Minister has directed the state administration to use helicopters and mechanised boats to step up rescue and relief operations. He has also asked all ministers in his cabinet to visit the flood-affected districts and oversee relief and rescue operations. (AFP image)

The Brahmaputra, Burhidehing, Subansiri, Dhansiri and the Jia Bharali rivers are flowing above danger level at many places. (Image courtesy: Kishalay Bhattacharjee)

The National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the army and the IAF are all engaged in rescue and relief operations. (Image courtesy: PTI)

Over 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park remained under flood water and over 10 animals died in the park due to floods. Vast areas of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Morigaon district and Dibru Choikhowa National Park in Tinsukia district were also submerged. (Image courtesy: Kishalay Bhattacharjee)