Floods in Bangladesh (center) give the impresssion that the Bay of Bengal (bottom) has decided to come ashore. Monsoon rains have innundated the region, causing rivers such as the Brahmaputra (flowing into the center of the image from the northeast) and the Ganges (flowing in at left center edge) to spill from their banks and flood low-lying areas. Half million people have been displaced by the flooding in the region.

This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Terra satellite on July 5, 2003, shows standing water in dark blue, clouds in light blue, sunglint (glare) in white, and vegetation in green.

Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC