Major Calamity in India - A river changes course

The Kosi river, a tributary of the Ganges in the Indian State of Bihar did something earth shattering this monsoon season. It burst through its banks to flow into a channel it had abandoned more than 200 years ago. The flooded channel swept over a region not accustomed to flooding and forced more than a million people from their homes.

These images below explain what exactly happened:

Here's a Google Maps View of The Kosi River during normal times:


Here's another image from NASA Earth Observatory taken on August 8th, 2008 (before the disaster)


Here's a image from Nasa Earth Observatory taken on August 24th, 2008 showing River Kosi changing its course and flowing through the channel which was abandoned 200 years ago. Looks like more water is flowing through this channel.

Cyclone Sidr

A Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Sidr, battered Bangladesh with wind speeds of up to 250 km/h, with gusts of 305 km/h.

BBC is reporting that scores have died as the cyclone roared through Bangladesh

Officials have warned that the death toll could rise and that the extent of the damage is still unclear.

Here is a NASA image of Cyclone Sidr which I have attempted to overlay on Google Earth.

Monsoon Floods in Eastern India

Image shown below from NASA Earth Observatory was taken on August 3rd. Quote from their website:

On August 3, the Ganges, Gandak, and Kosi Rivers were so swollen that it was hard to see exactly where the rivers normally flow. The tributaries that feed the Kosi River, not even visible on June 4, have combined in a vast web of water-covered land. The light blue area under the clouds in the lower left corner of the image is probably water-soaked earth, not standing water.

According to BBC as of August 3, nearly 20 million people had been displaced in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and 125 had died in India.