USDA/NASS Disaster Analysis Web Page
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Research_and_Science/Disaster-Analysis/index.php

Metadata
Event: Hurricane Milton - October 2024

Last Updated: October 23, 2024

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Report File Name: 2024_Hurricane_Milton_Oct09.pdf

Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 storm that made landfall on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 near Siesta Key, FL. At peak intensity, the hurricane was the fifth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record. The hurricane caused a tornado outbreak, heavy precipitation, and strong winds throughout the state. Furthermore, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida just two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the same region. The United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) produced an assessment on the extent of potential damage to agricultural land from this event. A disaster assessment was conducted using available Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and cloud-free Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8/9 optical imagery coverage to identify inundated areas due to Hurricane Helene. Inundated areas were then compared to the 2023 Cropland Data Layer (CDL) to estimate crops potentially affected by the floods. Additional wind and precipitation analysis were conducted using the 2023 CDL.

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Imagery Inputs

Name: Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) 
Dates: 07/01/24 to 10/18/24
Obtained From: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/COPERNICUS_S1_GRD

Name: Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) Median Composite Image 
Dates: 10/08/24 to 10/15/24
Obtained From: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/COPERNICUS_S2_SR

Name: Landsat 8/9 Median Composite Image 
Dates: 10/08/24 to 10/15/24
Obtained From: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/landsat

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Weather Inputs

Name: NOAA National Hurricane Center, Preliminary Best Track downloaded on October 10, 2024, 12pm. 
Obtained From: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gis/

Name: NOAA National Water Prediction Service, Precipitation Estimate Last 10 Days downloaded on October 4, 2024.
Obtained From: https://water.noaa.gov/

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Agricultural Inputs

Name: NASS 2023 Cropland Data Layer (planted acres)
Obtained From: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/USDA_NASS_CDL
Disclaimer: These data are not official NASS estimates. 

Name: NASS Quickstats 2023
Data: Acres planted (corn, cotton, peanuts, strawberries), acres harvested (sugarcane - sugar and seed), and acres (oranges, citrus excluding oranges). 
Obtained From: https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/

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Processing Software

Li, Z., 2024, Flood Detection and Monitoring System (FDMS) V1.9 Beta, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington DC. 
https://zheli.users.earthengine.app/view/flood-detection-and-monitoring-system-v19 

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