Calamity
highFireCalamity Score: 44

Moderate Wildfire

111d agoButaDR CongoSource: firms

18 fire pixels detected · FRP: 143 MW · ~2.5 km²

Geographic Context

This fire event occurred near Buta (approximately 14 km away) in DR Congo, an area that experiences a range of natural hazards. An estimated 25.8K people live within 20 km of the event location, placing this in the "significant" population impact tier.

Event Assessment

This event is a significant wildfire detected by satellite with a fire radiative power of 143 MW, suggesting active, intense burning across multiple detection pixels. Calamity.live has classified it as "high" severity with a severity value of 46.614. The computed Calamity Score is 44 out of 100, reflecting a moderate-impact event. The primary scoring components are: historical (80), intensity (60), population (40). Data for this event was sourced from firms, one of the 250 scientific monitoring sources aggregated by Calamity.live.

Regional Monitoring Context

DR Congo has a documented history of fire events. Wildfire activity in the region is monitored through NASA FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System), which provides near-real-time active fire data from MODIS and VIIRS satellites. Fire behavior is influenced by vegetation type, moisture content, wind patterns, and terrain — all factors that determine whether an initial ignition becomes a major event.

Event Data

TypeFire
Severityhigh
Severity Value46.614
Calamity Score44 / 100
Confidence85%
Coordinates2.8971, 24.7895
Nearest CityButa (14 km)
Population Exposed25.8K within 20 km
Impact Tiersignificant
Timestamp2026-03-08T11:47:00.000Z

Score Breakdown

0
cascading
60
intensity
80
historical
40
population

Technical Details

Frp143.07
Area Km22.5200000000000005
Brightness346.2
Confidencenominal
PixelCount18

Safety Information

If a wildfire is approaching: follow evacuation orders immediately. Do not wait to see the fire. Close all windows and doors, remove combustible materials from around your home, and have an emergency go-bag ready. Air quality can deteriorate rapidly even at distance from the fire front — monitor local air quality advisories.

This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.

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Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 44/100, near Buta (DR Congo), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 197 scientific monitoring sources.