Videos

Throughout the historically active 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season,USGS hydrologists have been working quickly to collect vital flood and streamflow information in impacted areas.

Tidal marshes exist as a transitional environment between the land and sea, and provides habitat to fish and wildlife, protects human developments from coastal flooding, and stores carbon at high density, among other important ecosystem services.

USGS Storm Tide Sensors are specialized scientific instruments used to measure the depth and duration of storm surge during coastal storms. The data these sensors collect before, during and after a storm will help public officials assess storm damage, and improve computer models used to forecast storm surge and coastal change.

Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on October 10, 2018.



Landsat 7 images captured before and after highlight the destructive path of the Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Florence hit the Carolina coast on September 14, 2018, but it took much longer for the full impact to emerge.

Remotely-sensed images show the slow devastation that 13 trillion gallons of rain can bring as it moves back toward the sea.

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season has seen several hurricanes in a row during the months of August, September, and October. Follow along with this video to see satellite imagery of hurricanes and tropical storms during this time period. 

Before a hurricane, USGS Scientists undertake a data collection effort of a grand scale. They install a temporary mobile network of sensors along the coasts to collect additional data on the intensity of storm surge, one of the most dangerous elements of a hurricane.

Landsat 8 imagery shows the change in vegetation on Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.



At the USGS EROS Center, we study land change, operate the Landsat satellites, and maintain the longest, continuously acquired collection of images of the Earth's land surface.

Hurricane Irma churned up sediment around the Florida keys as shown by these Landsat images.



At the USGS EROS Center, we study land change, operate the Landsat satellites, and maintain the longest, continuously acquired collection of images of the Earth's land surface.

Hurricane Irma's full force hit the small island of Barbuda, damaging estimated 95% of structures.



At the USGS EROS Center, we study land change, operate the Landsat satellites, and maintain the longest, continuously acquired collection of images of the Earth's land surface.

Hurricane Harvey dumped over 50 inches of rain near Houston, leaving extensive flooding throughout the area.



At the USGS EROS Center, we study land change, operate the Landsat satellites, and maintain the longest, continuously acquired collection of images of the Earth's land surface.

This was a Facebook Live Video conducted with USGS Hydrologist, Brian McCallum from the South Atlantic Water Science Center in Norcross, GA. The original URL for this Facebook Live video is at: https://www.facebook.com/USGeologicalSurvey/videos/1179388798773768/

This video shows the flooding that occurred in Arizona from the remnants of Hurricane Odile, while explaining the different techniques for high flow measurements.

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike destroyed nearly every house in the Gulf-front community of Gilchrist, just north of Galveston Texas. In addition to storm surge and battering waves, the land on which the houses were built contributed to the disaster by changing in shape and elevation. Dr.

This video describes research conducted by Dr. Karen McKee, USGS Research Ecologist, and her university partners, Dr. Irv Mendelssohn (Louisiana State University) and Dr. Mark Hester (University of Louisiana). They are studying the effects of hurricanes on marsh and mangrove wetlands in the Mississippi River Delta, which contains over 40% of the U.S.