VALIDATION OF A METHOD FOR ESTIMATING FLOOD DAMAGE TO HOUSES IN THE LOWER MEKONG BASIN

Abstract

The present study explains a method for estimating flood damage to houses in the Lower Mekong Basin. For the 2011 flood, two different methods were applied to estimate geographical distribution of floodwater level and depth, and the results were compared with field survey data. Unfortunately, estimated floodwater levels and satellite land surface elevations did not show good agreement with the field survey data, and thus floodwater depth estimates also did not show good agreement. Empirical relationships to evaluate flood damage to houses as a function of floodwater depth above house floor were derived and validated using the field survey data for the flood events in 2006 and 2011. The results show that better estimation of house damage with smaller error can be obtained if the relationship is constructed as not single function in the entire region but in each individual subregion.