Satellite-Detected Flood Extents in Farafangana, Madagascar, February 2022

Farafangana district in Madagascar's Atsimo Atsinanana region is the focus of this flood analysis. The United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) produced this dataset from a TerraSAR-X radar image acquired on 8 February 2022, estimating about 100 km2 of flooded land and 22,400 people potentially exposed. This is a preliminary analysis and has not been validated in the field.

Use Cases

• Map flood extents based on satellite-detected surface water extents mentioned in the description
• Estimate population exposure to flooding based on WorldPop population data referenced in the description
• Assess flood impact for humanitarian response planning based on the geographic and population analysis provided

Strengths

• Analysis covers a 2,600 km2 area in Farafangana district.
• Provides specific estimates of flooded area (100 km2) and potentially exposed population (22,400 people).
• Sourced from a TerraSAR-X radar image acquired on a specific date (8 February 2022).

Limitations

• The analysis is preliminary and explicitly noted as not validated in the field.
• Flood detection from radar images may underestimate water in built-up and densely vegetated areas, as noted in the description.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT)

Collection Method

Analysis of a TerraSAR-X radar satellite image.

Time Range

Observation date: 8 February 2022.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-24 10:31:29.703955; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Farafangana district, Atsimo Atsinanana region, Madagascar.