Published 16:01 IST, August 8th 2020
Beirut blast: NASA's satellite images show scale of destruction; pics inside
NASA said that it used satellite-derived synthetic aperture radar data from space to capture before and after the ground surface change due to Beirut blasts.
- Science News
- 3 min read
On August 7, NASA's Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team, in collaboration with the Earth Observatory, Singapore in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech released the satellite imagery of the scale of destruction caused by the massive explosion in Beirut on August 4. In a press release, NASA said that it used satellite-derived synthetic aperture radar data from the space to capture the before and after the ground surface change. In the images released, NASA said what looked like an earthquake, one can see the infrastructure in ruins around the port of Beirut.
Marking the areas destroyed on the map with red pixels, NASA signified more extensive damage, whereas, the yellow and red pixels represented moderate and slight damage. Each pixel approximately covered an area of 33 yards. “Maps like this one can help identify badly damaged areas where people may need assistance. The explosion occurred near the city's port. It claimed more than 150 lives and is estimated to have caused billions of dollars' worth of damage,” NASA said in the release. According to the space agency, the map was created with modified data supplied by the Copernicus Sentinel data processed by ESA (European Space Agency) and analyzed by ARIA team scientists at NASA JPL.
[NASA's ARIA team, in collaboration with the Earth Observatory of Singapore, used satellite data to map the extent of likely damage following a massive explosion in Beirut. Credit: NASA]
South of port sustained most severe damage
More than 100 lives were claimed, and over 4,000 wounded and up to 300,000 people were rendered homeless after gigantic explosions rocked through the port area in Beirut. The destruction occurred while the country was struggling financially amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis and its economy was in shackles, as per reports. NASA’s imagery depicts nearly every building collapsed and there was widescale damage caused in the unforeseen tragedy. A large, water-filled crater was seen in place of the ground where two port buildings stood, while the south of the port sustained the most severe damage.
[South of the port of Beirut that sustained maximum damage. Credit: A Flourish chart/AP]
[Port of Beirut and the area around it where the massive explosions occurred at a warehouse.Credit: A Flourish chart/AP]
[Before and after moments of twin explosions that rocked Lebanon's capital. Credit: A Flourish chart/AP]
[General view of the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Credit: AP]
[A soldier stands at the devastated site of the explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: AP]
[Graphic shows areas of interest in aftermath of Beirut blast. Credit: AP]
[French and Lebanese firemen search in the rubble of a building after the Tuesday explosion at the seaport of Beirut. Credit: AP]
Updated 16:00 IST, August 8th 2020