Floods in Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic

Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC)

In February and March of 2009, much of the highlands in the Dominican Republic were still draining rainwaters after a very heavy rainy season in 2008 (largely due to Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike) and a wetter-than-normal dry season.

This map shows the effects of this drainage on Lago Enriquillo, an endorheic (no natural outflow) saline lake that is located some 30 meters (33 yards) below sea level. By February 26, 2009, the lake had increased in size by over 10,000 hectares when compared to its extent in 2000.

CATHALAC—in the context of the Regional Visualization and Monitoring System (SERVIR, in Spanish) supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and NASA—used Landsat and MODIS images as well as SEMARENA land-use data in this interpretation.

Courtesy of CATHALAC, USAID, and NASA.

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