Queensland floods: satellite images before and after reveal devastation

Disaster Management Policyand Technology Center

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12:28:53, 13/02/2019 Torrential rains engulf outback communities and kill an estimated 500,000 head of cattle

The Queensland floods have wrecked homes and caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to property.
In the regional and rural parts of the state, an estimated 500,000 cattle have been killed by flood waters, devastating graziers already struggling with the impact of prolonged drought.
Satellite photos show the full extent of the flood waters streaming south through the west of the state – from the Gulf of Carpentaria down towards the centre of Australia.
Below you can see flooding from the Flinders, Bynoe and Norman rivers at the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, south-west of the small town of Karumba.

Satellite photos of Queensland coast near Karumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria October 2018. Images: Sentinel Hub/Copernicus Sentinel

Satellite photos of Queensland coast near Karumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria February 2019. Images: Sentinel Hub/Copernicus Sentinel

Further south, the flood waters stretch between the Flinders and Norman rivers, spanning approximately 80km in width at the widest point.

Satellite photos of the Flinders and Norman rivers in Queensland, October 2018. Images: Sentinel Hub/Copernicus Sentinel

Satellite photos of the Flinders and Norman rivers in Queensland, February 2019. Images: Sentinel Hub/Copernicus Sentinel

Most of the east coast has been covered by cloud in recent satellite photos. Below you can see a plume of silt flowing from the Burdekin River into the ocean near the Great Barrier Reef.

Satellite photos of the Queensland coast near Ayr, showing the Burdekin River. October 2018 . Images: Sentinel Hub/Copernicus Sentinel

Satellite photos of the Queensland coast near Ayr, showing the Burdekin River. February 2019. Images: Sentinel Hub/Copernicus Sentinel