Remote Sensing Imagery of Remote Sensing Imagery of

Cyclone Gonu and Areas AffectedCyclone Gonu and Areas Affected

History of Tropical Cyclones in the North Indian Ocean (1984-2013)

1984-20051984-2005

Storms in 2007

Strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula during last decade

First observed as tropical depression in the Indian Ocean on May 27 by weather satellites

Affected the eastern parts of Oman on June 4, 2007 Gonu peaked to category 5 on June 6 Brought along strong and torrential rains, high waves, and strong

winds As the storm weakened, it moved through the Arabian Sea and

made a landfall in Iran on at 0.00 GMT on June 7, 2007 Gonu was downgraded to category 1 by June 8, 2007

Cyclone Gonu

Timeline of Cyclone GonuTimeline of Cyclone Gonu

0700/03

1600/03

2200/03

1000/04

1600/04

2200/041000/05

1900/05

1600/06

0400/07

Gonu Track

Cyclone GonuCyclone Gonu

• Gonu dropped heavy rainfall near the eastern coastline, reaching up to 610 mm (24 inches) which caused flooding and heavy damage.

• The cyclone caused about $4 billion in damage (2007 USD) and 49 deaths in Oman, where the cyclone was considered the nation's worst natural disaster.

• In Iran, the cyclone caused 23 deaths and $215 million in damage (2007 USD).

Source: wikipedia

Monitoring and early warningMonitoring and early warning

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• IR10.8 to get info on cloud top temperature/height• HRVIS to see detailed structures• NIR1.6 and IR3.9 (solar component) to get information

on phase and particle size• IR3.9 - IR10.8 to find areas with most intense

development/precipitation• RGB 01/03/09 (Day) or RGB 01/04/09 (Day) and RGB

10-09/09-04/09 (Night) to monitor cloud types and convective development

• RGB 05-06/04-09/03-01 to monitor convective development

Monitoring of Tropical Cyclones Using MSG

Evaluation of damaged areaEvaluation of damaged area

Ikonos bands 3, 2 and 1; March 2, 2006Ikonos bands 3, 2 and 1; March 2, 2006

Qurum National Park, OmanQurum National Park, Oman

Qurum National Park, OmanQurum National Park, Oman

Ikonos bands 3, 2 and 1; June 12, 2007Ikonos bands 3, 2 and 1; June 12, 2007

Remote Sensing SatellitesRemote Sensing Satellites

Satellites are major contributors to weather and climate studies

Meteorological and environmental satellites provide techniques for operational monitoring of the phenomenon on a continuous basis Imagery provided by European Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) are key input in all early warning systems of Tropical Cyclone

Remote Sensing TechniquesRemote Sensing Techniques

During natural disasters, accessibility and other infrastructure may not be in place to acquire valuable information from affected sites

Medium to high-resolution imagery necessary for mapping and evaluation of major disasters

Cyclone Gonu is example of the usefulness of satellites to monitor, forecast and to study this damaging phenomenon