30 striking images of natural disasters captured from space

Satellite imagery can help organisations in delivering emergency relief where needed

1. An enormous plume of ash rises from the Cleveland Volcano on May 23, 2006. The image was captured from the International Space Station by astronaut Jeff Williams. The ash cloud rose as high as 6,000 metres above sea level. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

2. The Raikoke Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula erupts on June 22, 2019. The last time it exploded was in 1924. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

3. Another image of the Raikoke eruption was captured on the same morning by the Suomi NPP satellite. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

4. One of the deadliest earthquakes struck Haiti in 2010. This GeoEye-1 satellite image shows rubble on the streets of Port-au-Prince on January 13. About 250,000 people were killed in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

5. A huge sandstorm rolls across the Sahara Desert on August 1, 2018. Astronaut Ricky Arnold captured this image from the ISS. Photo: Ricky Arnold Twitter

6. Satellite images show an active volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma on September 26, 2021. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

7. The La Palma volcanic eruption has destroyed hundreds of homes. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

8. Astronauts on the space station captured images of auroras australis, or southern lights, while flying over the Indian Ocean. Light created by the wildfires in Australia can also be seen. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

9. This Terra satellite image shows how green (represented in red in this photo) the island of Leyte was before the deadly super typhoon Haiyan hit Philippines in 2013. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

10. Much of the vegetation and properties on the island was destroyed after the typhoon struck with winds of near 315 kilometres per hour. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

11. A view of super typhoon Haiyan from space taken by Nasa’s Aqua satellite. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

12. The European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite captured an image of the fires in southern California on December 5, 2017. This photo shows the largest of the blazes in Ventura County, which destroyed more than 65,000 acres. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

13. The highest volcano in the Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in 33 years in 2015. An image captured by the Terra satellite shows volcanic ash and gases about 15 km high. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

14. An image of the Hurricane Dorian taken by US astronaut Christina Koch in 2019. The natural disaster struck the Bahamas and killed more than 70 people. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

15. Astronaut Christina Koch shared an image of smoke pluming over the Australian continent. The 2019-2020 bushfires destroyed thousands of homes and killed more than 30 people. Photo: Christina Koch Twitter

16. Satellite images show a dust storm sweeping over the Middle East in 2015. The storm hit Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus and Palestine, causing many cancelled flights and the closure of seaports. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

17. A shield volcano erupts on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula on March 22, 2021. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

18. Astronaut Luca Parmitano shared an image of the wildfires in Australia on January 13, 2020. Photo: European Space Agency

19. A 2007 view of Japan’s Tohoku region before one of the world’s deadliest earthquake destroyed most of the area in 2011. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

20. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis killed nearly 230,000 people. A satellite image shows the Indonesian town of Lhoknga destroyed by the natural disaster on December 26. All properties were destroyed, except for a white mosque that is visible in the image. Photo: Nasa

21. The tsunamis, caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, also struck Sri Lanka. Photo: Nasa

22. A satellite image taken after a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Tohoku region in Japan, with tsunami waves destroying most of the coastal area. About five to 10 metre waves flooded into the town. The photo shows flooding, a destroyed seawall and debris. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

23. The Raikoke Volcano eruption seen from space on June 22, 2019. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

24. A Suomi NPP satellite image shows smoke over Russia, as wildfires burned across 11 regions of the country in July 2019. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

25. Satellite image of forest fires in Northern California captured in August 2008. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

26. The Fagradalsfjall volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on May 9, 2021. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

27. The 2011 tsunami in Japan was so intense, it caused calving of large icebergs from the Sulzberger Ice Shelf on the Antarctic coast, as shown in this image captured by European Space Agency’s Envisat satellite. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

28. Satellite image shows a powerful tornado (brown horizontal line in the middle of image) sweeping across Massachusetts on June 2011. It wreaked havoc for 63 kilometres, killing three people and destroying property. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

29. A satellite image of the Hurricane Katrina over the US in 2005. It struck the state of Louisiana, killing 1,833 people and destroying thousands of homes. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

30. The Caldor fire reached Lake Tahoe on the California and Nevada border on September 15, 2021, as seen in this Landsat 8 satellite image. The fire had been burning for 10 weeks. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

From entire towns engulfed by tsunamis to plumes of smoke from wildfires sweeping cities – astronauts and satellites have been capturing images of natural disasters from space for years.

The images help meteorologists who track storms, as well as relief organisations that need help in determining the impact of a natural disaster.

The National highlights 30 of the most striking images of natural disasters captured from space.

In the last few days, astronauts on the International Space Station have been posting photos of the volcano eruption on La Palma, one of the Spanish Canary Islands.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on September 19, and its red-hot lava has reached the Atlantic Ocean.

“The #LaPalma volcano in eruption. Set against the blackness of the surrounding Atlantic Ocean, the bright orange glow is even more impressive,” French Astronaut Thomas Pesquet tweeted on September 22 from the ISS, as he shared images of the volcano.

Astronauts have also been monitoring the wildfires burning across California and Nevada during this year’s fire season in the US.

The Caldor fire has been active for about 10 weeks and has reached Lake Tahoe, destroying some of the world’s oldest trees.

Nasa astronaut Megan McArthur, a native of California, shared images of the fires from space.

“California on Sunday from @Space_Station. Tough to see these views of my home state. My thoughts are with all those affected,” she tweeted on September 2.

In 2006, astronaut Jeff Williams spotted ash emerging from the Cleveland Volcano and reported the activity to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

He captured images of a volcanic ash cloud going as high 6,000 metres above sea level.

Private satellite companies and space agencies often supply free images of natural disasters to help organisations deliver emergency relief.

“While Nasa researchers use satellite data to better understand the connections between climate and fires – and how fires affect the climate – they also use that data to develop tools for local agencies to track active fires and their smoke plumes, and aid in recovery efforts,” Nasa said on its website.

“These efforts are increasingly important since the intensity of hurricanes and other extreme weather events is expected to rise in a changing climate. Warmer ocean temperatures due to climate change feed a storm’s heat engine and can propel it to a Category 5.”

The European Space Agency’s satellites also track natural disasters, including floods, volcano eruptions, fires, cyclones and earthquakes.

“Volcanoes can cause widespread devastation and satellite data can be used to monitor and even predict seismic activity, optical imagery products can be used to map volcanic impact,” the agency has said on its website.

“Over 50,000 earthquakes occur every year on Earth. Satellite data provides a unique opportunity to measure fine changes in the earth surface, which are often precursors of an earthquake.”

The UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre also uses its Earth-observation satellites, such as DubaiSat-1, DubaiSat-1 and KhalifaSat, to supply agencies around the world images of any natural disasters.

Stunning images of the Middle East from space - in pictures