Flood Waters Over Chokwe, Guika, Bilene, and Xai-Xai Districts, Gaza Province, Mozambique (as of 25 Jan 2013)
This map illustrates satellite-detected flood waters along the Limpopo River in the Guija, Chokwe, Bilene, and Xai-Xai districts of Gaza Province, Mozambique, as detected by TerraSAR-X imagery acquired the 24 January 2013 at 16:14 GMT. This analysis indicates a considerable flood extent due to swelling of the Limpopo River as waters flow towards the coast. Waters are also flowing south of the river and into surrounding agricultural areas and town, particularly around Chokwe city and in Xai-Xai district.There was a dramatic increase of flood waters from the 23rd to 24th January 2013. Multiple villages and Chokwe city are inundated by flood waters along the river. Large sections of road and railroad are potentially affected, including highway 208 which runs along the east bank of the Limpopo River and appears to be inundated to the north and east of Chokwe. It is likely that flood waters have been systematically underestimated in highly vegetated areas along main river banks, and within built-up urban areas due to the characteristics of the satellite data used. This analysis has not yet been validated in the field. Please send ground feedback to UNITAR /UNOSAT.