OBSERVING THE SOUTH CAROLINA FLOODS USING SATELLITE REMOTE SENSORS

In early October extreme rainfall led to severe flooding in the city of Columbia SC and surrounding areas. Whereas the flooding was exacerbated by numerous dam failures, this extreme rainfall followed days of rainfall of the previous weeks with saturated soil moisture conditions. In this presentation we will use data from the Global Precipitation (GPM) sensors and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) sensor. We will relate the wetness of the soil to rainfall and the flow/inundation over the area. Inundation will be mapped using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The results from this work will help to predict flooding in urban areas from severe rainfall.