Image acquired on January 8th, 2012 by Canadian satellite RADARSAT-2

On January 7, 2012, the dam at Campos dos Goytacezes, Brazil burst causing extensive flooding in the Minas Gerais, Espirito Santos, and Rio de Janeiro regions. At the same time a number of mudslides struck the city of Belo-Horizonte, killing 6 people. The Brazilian authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 people and a state of emergency was declared in the region. Civil defense officials were deployed to handle the worst affected areas in an attempt to prevent further loss of life.

The Ministry of Defense and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espacials (INPE)(Brazil) requested the acquisitions of Earth Observation (EO) imagery over Brazil in order to better manage the disaster crisis. In response, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) acquired multiple RADARSAT-2 images over affected areas during the week following the flood event. The CSA Earth Observation Applications and Utilizations (EOAU), in close collaboration with Hatfield Consultants Partnership (North Vancouver, Canada), have developed change detection maps with RADARSAT-2 and RADARSAT-1 images in less than 48 hours. The products were developed through the CSA Rapid Information Products and Services (RIPS) initiative.

The following images highlight areas of flood throughout Campos dos Goytacezes and show the extent of devastation. The image on the left depicts the area prior to flooding and the image on the right depicts post flood conditions with newly flooded areas highlighted in red.