April 27, 1997 Flood Image  Full image, 273Kb jpg  Aquisition Date: April 27, 1997, 7:48am CDT  Beam Mode: Standard 2  Orbit Pass: Descending  May 01, 1997 Flood Image  Full image, 215Kb jpg  Aquisition Date: May 01, 1997, 7:32am CDT  Beam Mode: Standard 6  Orbit Pass: Descending  Base Image:  Aquisition Date: October 10, 1996  Beam Mode: Standard 3  Orbit Pass: Ascending

This image shows the Red River Valley from Winnipeg to the area just south of Morris. The Standard Beam Mode 2 image was taken on April 27, 1997 at 7:48 AM and was interpreted by VPI in collaboration with CCRS. Areas of standing water are shown in blue. The outlet of the Floodway into the Red River is evident at the top of the image. Flooding in the Red River Valley continues to expand. River levels at the time this image was taken were already two to four feet above the peak levels recorded in 1979. The Red River Floodway was diverting about 51,000 cubic feet per second around Winnipeg. Further away from the Red River, significant localized flooding continues to be evident. This flooding is due to melt water ponding in the low lying areas as well as from smaller streams in the Red River Valley.

Source image © Canadian Space Agency, 1997
Received by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
Processed and distributed by RADARSAT International under the ADRO
Interpretation by Vantage Point Internation in cooperation with CCRS

For several weeks, hydrologists from Manitoba Natural Resources, Water Resources Branch have been preparing for the flood. The situation was optimistic until a late winter blizzard dropped about 18 inches of snow over the Red River basin.

Spring floods are nothing new to Manitobans. However, the prospects of a record-breaking inundation means that experts will have to study this year's flood very carefully, using experience gained from past floods and new information collected during this year's flood.

Fortunately, the Manitoba Remote Sensing Centre (MRSC), part of Manitoba's flood preparedness team, has a new tool this year. Canada's RADARSAT earth observation satellite will be keeping careful track of the flood from 798 kilometres above the earth. In addition, the Canadian Space Agency is coordinating an emergency image acquisition plan with the MRSC to provide images that will be used to analyze flood patterns for future reference.

RADARSAT is designed to overcome the most common problems associated with monitoring flood events: getting information when and where it is needed, regardless of weather conditions. RADARSAT's Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) sensor can penetrate the cloud cover that commonly coincides with flood events, frustrating attempts to map flood conditions. Also, RADARSAT offers a wide range of beam mode options.

The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) has been involved in using earth observation satellites to monitor natural disasters for over 25 years. CCRS has worked closely with the provinces and industry to develop and transfer operational methods in a wide range of applications, including hydrology.

CCRS is working closely with CSA,  RSI, MRCS and  Vantage Point International Inc. (VPI). VPI is a six year-old Ottawa-based engineering consulting company specializing in radar applications and technology. VPI has developed a specialty in radar flood mapping over several years with support of the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (technology transfer) and the Canadian Space Agency (provision of RADARSAT data as part of the ADRO program).

The RADARSAT imagery acquired during the flood will let authorities track the advance of the flood peak from the U.S. into Canada. More importantly, this imagery will be included in intensive research on the flood that will continue long after the flood waters recede. The RADARSAT data will play a key role in assessing post-flood damage and improving current flood prediction models.

 Canadian Space Agency has a RADARSAT FTP Site with more RADARSAT images of the flood.
 Government of Manitoba - Flood Information
 Canadian Red Cross - Flood Watch