This Is What the Desert Looks Like After Years' Worth of Rain (GIF)

Sean Breslin
Published: November 10,2015

These images, taken by a NASA satellite, show the coastal flooding left behind in Yemen by Cyclone Chapala.

NASA has given us a look into what can happen when a desert gets massive amounts of rainfall in a short period of time.
Cyclone Chapala was a historic storm that blew across the Arabian Sea and made a rare landfall along the coast of Yemen. When it hit the arid nation, Chapala dumped more than a years' worth of rain in some areas, which led to major, life-threatening floods that swamped entire towns.
The image at the top of this page shows just how widespread that flooding was. The two images were taken less than a month apart by NASA's Operational Land Imager; one was captured well before the storm threatened Yemen, while the other was taken after Chapala passed.
(PHOTOS: Chapala Hammers Yemen)
As you study the animated image, you might notice a few things. Storm-surge flooding is evident along the coast, and it can still be seen by the satellite long after landfall. That flooding stretches over several miles of eastern Yemen, right where towns are located.
Also, check out the once-dry riverbed of Wadi al Masilah after the storm has passed. In the second image, it's swollen from all the inland rainfall brought by Chapala.
NASA also released the image below, which shows satellite-estimated rainfall totals from Chapala. Keep in mind that 60 millimeters of rain is equivalent to about 2.4 inches, 120 millimeters is a little under 5 inches, and 180 millimeters is about 7 inches of rain.

(NASA Photo)

Much of the data collected from the storm was satellite-estimated; the war-torn nation is lacking in weather observations, and historical weather records don't date back many years.
MORE: Cyclone Chapala