STS095-711-71
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Honduras Flooding: Flooding from Hurricane Mitch, Honduras.
This shot shows the inundated floodplain of the Rio Aguan on the
northern coast of Honduras. The city of Trujillo is along the
coast under the "hook" of Punta Caxinas, and the city of
Tocoa is at the edge of the floodplain near where it begins to
broaden where a small but visible tributary comes into the south of
the main course of the river. In a report dated Friday, November 6,
1998, a missionary living in the city of Trujillo reported (via email
before her batteries ran out) that the military was confiscating food
aid that had been delivered, and it has been difficult to confirm her
story or get additional information about this problem. On November
9, the road between Trujillo and Tocoa was reopened, allowing ground
transport of medical supplies. Tocoa is one of seven regional
centers that were the focus of deliveries of medicines, medical
supplies and equipment, emergency shelters, and water and sanitation
supplies by Doctors without Borders. Honduras-wide, CARE estimated
that half the country was under water, and death tolls from the
Hurricane exceeded 5,000. On-line references used in the above
caption are available at the following websites:
http://htw.marrder.com/hondo1/news.htm
http://htw.marrder.com/hondo1/_charity/000001af.htm
http://htw.marrder.com/hondo1/_charity/00000188.htm
http://www.care.org/mitch/honduras.htm
http://www.dwb.org/reports/mitch2.htm
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STS026-35-26
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Rio Aguan, Honduras: Comparative view of the same region
,covered in STS095-711-071, taken in October 1988 during "normal"
conditions.
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STS095-723-45
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Honduras Flooding: Flooding from Hurricane Mitch, Honduras.
This shot shows the inundated floodplain of the Rio Patuca on the
northeast coast of Honduras. This region is commonly known as The
Mosquito Coast or La Mosquitia. Some telltale signs of the extent of
the flooding are the sediment load of the rivers, and the fact that
many of the coastal lagoons (dark areas to the rights of the river
outflow) have merged together. It is estimated that all Mosquitians
lost their crops (banana, rice and cacao) in the flooding, leaving
35,000 to 50,000 people without food, and many without shelter as
well. Most of the people impaced are part of the Miskito, Tawahka and
Pech indigenous populations. The town of Wampusirpi (which is
located up the river above the floodplain) is an aid center, although
because of its small size, it cannot be easily distinguished in this
photo. Several aid organizations including GTZ (the German forestry
management group) and the Montreal-based Mosquitia Campaign (a group
of scientists who conduct research in the area) have been working to
get aid supplies in to the people. Calculations from MOPAWI and The
FITH, the aid organizations on the ground in the area, suggest a need
for 400 tons of food a month for 4-6 months. As of November 20,
multiple aid shipments had made it in to Wampusirpi, but the airstrip
can only accommodate small shipments, so this is a small fraction of
aid needed. Also, because of the shortage of fuel, it is difficult to
get the food from the airstrips to the outlying communities (by motor
boat). An on-line reference for the above information which
includes a map of the region and weekly updates on aid deliveries is
at: http://www.members.tripod.com/D_Parent/mitch-relief.html.
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STS095-718-39
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Mount Fuji, Japan: Mt. Fuji (center; peak with snowcap),
surrounded by Fuji Hakone Isu National Park, rises 3,776 m above the
north end of Suruga Bay. The city of Shizuoka occupies the area
around the hook of land on the western shore of the bay (view is to
NW). Progressing east from Suruga Bay are Sagami-wan and Tokyo-wan
(bays), separated by Iro-zaki and Ken-zaki (peninsulas),
respectively. The Tokyo-Yokahama urban complex and the thoroughly
engineered coastline of Tokyo-wan dominate the eastern portion of the
photo.
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STS095-712-67
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Hawaiian Volcanoes: A volcanic haze emanates from a cloudy
Island of Hawaii (right side of image). The plume, which was
photographed by the STS-95 crew on November 2, 1998, is composed
primarily of water vapor and sulfur dioxide — release of such
gasses is an ongoing process at Kilauea, although this plume is
particularly noticeable. Kilauea's eruptive activity has been
vigorous since late August. This phase of the eruption began October
22.
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STS095-714-95
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Dust Over Cape Verde Islands: Saharan dust obscures the Cape
Verde Island off the coast of Senegal. The small island toward center
is the elongate Sao Nicolau. To the upper left (south) of Sao Nicolau
is Fogo island.
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STS031-75-29
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Cape Verde Islands: The Cape Verde Islands as they appear on a
dust free day. The volcanic island of Fogo is near the center of the
image.
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STS095-713-38
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Rift Triple Junction: Red Sea/Gulf of Aden/Ethiopia. This
southwestward view is an outstanding illustration of the rift triple
junction of East Africa. As the Earth's crust is stretched over a
mangle hotspot, three rifts are developing at 120° angles to each
other: the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Ethiopian rift.
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STS095-719-45
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Great Valley, California: Panoramic view of the Great Valley
from the cloud covered San Joaquin in the south to the Sacramento
Valley in the north. The snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains line the
eastern edge of the valley. Point Conception is the prominent
peninsula on the left side of the image. The Channel Islands are
separated from the mainland by the Santa Barbara Channel. Further
north along the coast are Monterey and San Francisco Bays. Los
Angeles is the gray area to the lower right.
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STS095-704-74
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Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida: The cities of Tampa and St.
Petersburg as they appear from space.
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