Detection of Flooded Areas Using Open Data

Introduction

Floods in India are turning more severe, unpredictable and rather intractable among the most destructive extreme weather events, affecting millions of people life each year. Number of urban floods where the drainage system is unable to cope or due to unexpected underground basin recharge and rise of the groundwater levels, poor drainage and encroachment of old water bodies of cities and towns. Number of agencies involved in flood control, there is a clear lack of coordination among them in the management of floods.

Open Data Response in Urban Flooding

 As a consequence, there is an emerging motivation to understand how accurate our knowledge can be about flood risk—its location, timing and duration and how data collection and analysis can assist us. A number of recent studies have provided evidence that ‘big data’ can reveal a great detailed information about people's real-world, collective decision-making and responses to events and can even help to predict such natural calamities. Google Analytics, is a hub of information. It allows us to see traffic sources, regions and more, which is capable of tracking hourly information about unique page visits, number and duration of individual sessions at the level of cities and towns 

To optimize the design of its Web-based services, the several Environment Agency has also installed Google Analytics on its live flood warning pages. Interest has therefore emerged in analyzing records of flood warning alerts, which integrated with geolocation records. In this study, we analyze whether Web-based information seeking about flood risk can help us understand how badly those locations have been affected.

Open Datasets

All datasets used in our analysis fall into the category of open data and are available free of cost. They can be divided into three main groups: 

(i) datasets available for direct download online,

(ii) datasets available for public use, but where prior registration or permission of the data officer is required, and In order to keep the public informed about risks, the Environment Agency maintains several interactive Web-based services

 (iii) datasets contained in commercial databases, but accessible via application program interfaces or by crawling Internet resources. 

Satellite Data Response to Flooding

Use of satellite data is important approach to assess the damages . No matter what type of flooding occurs, in most cases it leaves devastating consequences. Satellite imagery is one of the most important sources of information for disaster response. Optical (visible and infrared) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery are routinely used to determine flood extent and to help direct relief efforts.

Satellite Data delivering near-real-time images, are a good source of information for authorities coping with the crisis during and after flooding. They provide images of a wide area, showing a clear picture of the overall extent of the flood. It Simply comparing before and after images of the flooded region makes a rapid and authoritative damage assessment estimate possible, factoring in different land cover types to quantify the cost of the flood.

Use Case : Open Data Response in Uttarakhand 

In Uttarakhand, February 7, 2021 a Himalayan glacier broke and caused sudden, massive flooding . An avalanche swept away two dam projects, completely destroyed the Rishiganga power project and many workers were missing. Violent surges of water flooded mountain gorges, washing away bridges, lands and roads. Rescue teams have been busy to find survivors and missing bodies. More than 30 workers could be stuck in tunnels that have been covered with mud and debris for so long.

When crises like this occur, these data sets is committed the altruistic response by providing critical and actionable information to assist response efforts and fulfilling our purpose, For A Better World.

Conclusion

In the last few years, India has focused on building a robust early flood warning system. Use satellite datasets, google analytics, and other datasets to get an intelligent flood warning system. Also such open datasets helps in supporting the humanitarian community by providing critical and actionable information to assist response, efforts and fulfilling our purpose, for a best and clear result.