Combining Water Fraction and DEM-Based Methods to Create a Coastal Flood Map: A Case Study of Hurricane Harvey
by
Xiaoxuan Li 1,2,3, Anthony R. Cummings 2
, Ali Rashed Alruzuq 1, Corene J. Matyas 1 and Amobichukwu Chukwudi Amanambu 1,4,*
Xiaoxuan Li 1,2,3, Anthony R. Cummings 2, Ali Rashed Alruzuq 1, Corene J. Matyas 1 and Amobichukwu Chukwudi Amanambu 1,4,*
1
Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
2
Geospatial Information Sciences, School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, the University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
3
Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
4
Water and Environmental Management, WEDC, School of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8(5), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8050231
Received: 8 March 2019 / Revised: 27 April 2019 / Accepted: 14 May 2019 / Published: 18 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Satellite-Based Mapping and Monitoring of Natural Disasters)
Tropical cyclones are incredibly destructive and deadly, inflicting immense losses to coastal properties and infrastructure. Hurricane-induced coastal floods are often the biggest threat to life and the coastal environment. A quick and accurate estimation of coastal flood extent is urgently required for disaster rescue and emergency response. In this study, a combined Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based water fraction (DWF) method was implemented to simulate coastal floods during Hurricane Harvey on the South Texas coast. Water fraction values were calculated to create a 15 km flood map from multiple channels of the Advanced Technology Microwave Sound dataset. Based on hydrological inundation mechanism and topographic information, the coarse-resolution flood map derived from water fraction values was then downscaled to a high spatial resolution of 10 m. To evaluate the DWF result, Storm Surge Hindcast product and flood-reported high-water-mark observations were used. The results indicated a high overlapping area between the DWF map and buffered flood-reported high-water-marks (HWMs), with a percentage of more than 85%. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient between the DWF map and CERA SSH product was 0.91, which demonstrates a strong linear relationship between these two maps. The DWF model has a promising capacity to create high-resolution flood maps over large areas that can aid in emergency response. The result generated here can also be useful for flood risk management, especially through risk communication.
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Keywords:
coastal floods; downscaling; DEM; ATMS; DWF
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MDPI and ACS Style
Li, X.; Cummings, A.R.; Alruzuq, A.R.; Matyas, C.J.; Amanambu, A.C. Combining Water Fraction and DEM-Based Methods to Create a Coastal Flood Map: A Case Study of Hurricane Harvey. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2019, 8, 231.
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