Sendai, Japan--In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, satellite images from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard its Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua satellites show the extent of flooding along the coastline.
Terra MODIS acquired the left image on February 26, 2011. The coastline is clearly delineated (black or dark blue is water). The coastline in the March 12 image (right)--after the tsunami hit--is not easy to see, but a thin green line outlines the shore. This green line is higher-elevation land that is above water and, according to NASA, is probably preventing the flood of water from returning to the sea. The flood indicator on the left image illustrates how far inland the flood extends.
Source: NASA