Water level estimation by remote sensing for the 2008 flooding of the Kosi River

Flood is a natural disaster which worsens when it is triggered by man-made constructions. This paper discusses one such flood event which occurred because of breach of a levee in the upper reach of the Kosi River in 2008, when floodwater spread over a large portion of the low-lying Ganga Plain of No...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of remote sensing 2014, Vol.35 (2), p.424-440
Main Authors: Pandey, Rajesh Kumar, Crétaux, Jean-François, Bergé-Nguyen, Muriel, Tiwari, Virendra Mani, Drolon, Vanessa, Papa, Fabrice, Calmant, Stephane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altimeters
Altimetry
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied geophysics
Biological and medical sciences
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Floods
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects. Techniques
Internal geophysics
MODIS
Ocean, Atmosphere
Precipitation
Remote sensing
Rivers
Sciences of the Universe
Spreads
Teledetection and vegetation maps
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Summary:Flood is a natural disaster which worsens when it is triggered by man-made constructions. This paper discusses one such flood event which occurred because of breach of a levee in the upper reach of the Kosi River in 2008, when floodwater spread over a large portion of the low-lying Ganga Plain of North Bihar, India. Here we have analysed a suite of space-based observations from radar altimetry, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation data, together with in situ monthly precipitation data, with a main emphasis on the results from altimetry and MODIS data. A methodology to calculate water levels, using MODIS data and Envisat data together, is also discussed. Our analyses suggest a rise in water level of 1.0-1.4 m in the flooded region during the flood event and a maximum extent for the flooded area of around 2900 km 2 . Analyses of TRMM precipitation data do not indicate any influence of high precipitation in the upper catchment of the Kosi Basin on river water feeding into the plain area after breaching of dam. However, heavy and prolonged precipitation was found downstream of the dam over the flooded area during the flood period.
ISSN:0143-1161
1366-5901
DOI:10.1080/01431161.2013.870678