Water
Flooding of cotton, maize and wheat fields
A field can be flooded suddenly by a flash flood, a downpour or a canal breach, and the crop can die within a few days. Water cuts off air to the roots and, when plants are fully submerged, to the leaves too. Cotton dies after 2–4 days of standing water, while rice tolerates several days.
Crops: Cotton, Maize, Wheat, Rice, Orchards, Vineyards
When it is dangerous
It matters all season, with the peak at emergence and flowering: submerged seedlings die completely and losses at flowering cannot be recovered. During grain fill water flattens plants, covers them with silt and lowers product quality. The risk is higher on the Amu Darya and Syr Darya floodplains, below reservoirs and in the foothills of Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya.
Causes
- Runoff after heavy rain
- A canal breach or overflow
- An emergency release from a reservoir
- Mudflows in the foothills
- Spring high water
Signs on the field
- Standing water on the field
- Flattened plants with silt on the leaves
- Yellowing after the water recedes
- Gaps in the crop in low spots
How ClusterOS notices it
The Sentinel-1 radar satellite spots new water through clouds by comparing the field with its own earlier images, which matters because floods come in cloudy weather. Downpours in the weather data and water that appeared suddenly and then receded confirm the event; 5–15 days after the water recedes, optical images show where the crop was damaged. Permanent water bodies, rice paddies, slope shadows and smooth dry ground are filtered out with masks and by comparison with how the field looked before. We cannot yet warn in advance about reservoir releases – that data is not available to us, only rainfall forecasts.
What to do
- Assess the flooded area
- Arrange drainage of the water
- Record the damage
- Mark rice paddies and ponds on the map and log flood irrigations – this removes false alarms
Questions
Can a satellite see flooding under clouds?
Yes, Sentinel-1 radar works through clouds, unlike optical imagery. This matters because floods usually happen in overcast weather. Wind ruffling the water surface can hide it from radar, so a report from the field is still useful.
How can flood damage be documented for insurance?
ClusterOS keeps the flooded area and the date of the event from radar images. 5–15 days after the water recedes, images show where the crop has yellowed. Together with a field inspection this helps document the damage.
Learn about this risk on your fields before it becomes a loss
We will show ClusterOS on your own fields: history since 2019, crop stage and all 24 risks.
Other risks in «Water»
Scientific basis
- Bailey-Serres J., Voesenek L.A.C.J. 2008, Annual Review of Plant Biology, DOI: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092752
- Voesenek L.A.C.J. 2016, New Phytologist, DOI: 10.1111/nph.13775
- Tiwari V. et al. 2020, PLoS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237324