DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED FLOOD ANALYSIS SYSTEM (IFAS) USING SATELLITE-BASED RAINFALL DATA

Abstract

In countries where river improvements are not sufficient, smooth evacuation from floods is important for reducing loss of life and property. However the development of flood forecasting systems in these countries has not advanced properly for financial difficulty and lack of rainfall data.

The authors have developed a concise flood-runoff analysis system as a toolkit for flood forecasting. This system implements interfaces to input not only ground-based but satellite-based rainfall data, GIS functions to construct flood-runoff models, a default runoff analysis model, and interfaces to display output results. The verification of this system for actual river basins indicates that satellite-based rainfall data and GIS-estimated parameters can be reliably used to conduct flood-runoff analysis in cases with insufficient hydrological and geophysical data. The authors hope that this system will be useful for the immediate and efficient implementation of flood forecasting and warning systems in developing countries.