JPSS SDOC JPSS PGRR - Satellite-based Disaster Outreach Coordinator (SDOC)

At approximately 4:45 p.m. local time on 22 July 2019, there was a massive power outage in Venezuela. which resulted in 19 of the 23 states of Venezuela being without power, according to local media. It was claimed by the Venezuelan government that this was an “electromagnetic attack” attack, though they didn’t provide evidence or further details on the cause of the outages.

For reference prior to the power outage, the closest clear day over Caracas and Valencia was 21 July 2019 from SNPP at 0532UTC, as can be seen in the slider below:

There were two VIIRS passes on the morning of 23 July 2019. Unfortunately both the NOAA-20 pass at ~0544 UTC and the NPP ~0634 UTC were marred by clouds in the region, as can be seen in the (I05) 11μm brightness temperature imagery.

NOAA-20 was the first to overfly the region at 0544UTC and was somewhat clear over Valencia and Maracay, confirming areas of outages in those regions.

However it is important to note that there were clouds over the region. This means that, while there is some lights being obscured by the clouds, one can do a qualitative comparison, but you cannot do a quantitative comparisons due to cloud contamination.

The NPP pass 50 minutes later allowed for some clearing over Barquisimeto as well, showing the outages in that region. However, as shown previously, there were thin clouds contaminating the scene.

By early on 23 July 2019, power had been restored to 5 out of the nation’s 23 states, according to media reports.