Environment
New Satellite Maps Reveal the Staggering Extent of Europe's Flooding
This monumental dousing has been called Europe's worst flood since the Middle Ages.
How bad is the historic flooding that's turning Europe into a certain terrific Kevin Costner flick? Take a look at these images captured by the Landsat 8 satellite that NASA featured today along with a nifty, sliding comparison tool. The first is from May 6 and shows the farmland around the city of Wittenberg, population 50,000:
What a nice, docile-looking river. It's the Elbe – a major European waterway that meanders through the lowlands of Germany and the Czech Republic. See if you recognize the same river in this shot from June 7: