Hatfield has developed an operational flood mapping service for the Mekong River using satellite imagery that provides the Mekong River Commission with mapping products in ‘near-real time’. This system is further improved through the integration of socio-economic and environmental information in a geographical information system.
The flood mapping service is based on RADARSAT-1 and MODIS imagery. RADARSAT-1 is an ideal instrument for flood mapping in tropical countries because, as an active radar instrument, it is not affected by cloud cover.
The updated service provides decision-makers with:
- Consistent and timely flood information, reducing human intervention in the flood mapping process.
- Critical information to support decision making processes of government agencies, river basin managers and development organizations.
- Flood Vulnerability GIS Atlas designed to support decision-making for the identification of flood-prone communities.
These technologies combined provide visual and analytical information to assess the vulnerability of communities thus reducing the risk of adverse effects from flooding.
Flooding around Phnom Pehn, Cambodia, from the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers.
The Flood Vulnerability GIS was also provided as a Digital Atlas using the ESRI ArcReader software; the screenshot of the application shows flood vulnerability based partly on indicators derived from RADARSAT-1 data.
