Flooding near Hamburg, Iowa

NASA image acquired July 17, 2011

In mid-July 2011, more than a month after the Missouri River broke through two levees and flooded fields near Hamburg, Iowa, muddy water lingered near the city. Hamburg residents were relieved, however, that a newly built levee had spared the town from flooding.

On July 17, 2011, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this natural-color image. Compared to an image acquired on June 24, flooding has apparently receded slightly in some areas. Sediment-choked water nevertheless lingers on large swaths of land.

On July 13, 2011, KETV of Omaha, Nebraska, reported that a newly built, 2-mile levee designed to protect Hamburg already exceeded federal standards. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handed control of the levee over to city officials on July 12. In the end, the levee was expected to cost the Army Corps $6 million, and the city of Hamburg about $800,000.

On July 18, 2011, the Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service reported moderate flooding along the Missouri River not far from Hamburg, Iowa. In the northwest, the river reached 24.37 feet (7.43 meters) at Nebraska City. In the southeast, the river reached 38.98 feet (11.88 meters) at Brownville, Nebraska.

NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data provided courtesy of the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: EO-1 - ALI

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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