In April and May, 2009, heavy and long lasting rainfall led to serious flooding in the north of Brazil. Ten of the 26 states of Brazil were heavily affected by the floods. Several people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced. Most of the fatalities have occurred in Brazil's northeast. The Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) at DLR produced pre-disaster overview maps of affected regions around the river Rio Parnaíba and the São Marcos bay area in the northeast of Brazil. Cities, airports, road and rail networks are depicted in the map.
A cow searches for food on a barren paddock at a farm near Goulburn, about 80 kms (50 miles) northeast of Canberra as storm clouds threaten overhead May 20, 2009. Storms ...