Application of GIS/RS in Assessment of Flash Flood Causes and Damages: A Case Study of Budhni Nullah, District Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to assess the flood hazard causes and damages and to draw the extent of flood hazard zones in Budhni Nullah District Peshawar on the basis of devastating historical flood data through the usage of the Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). Methodology: In this research, a descriptive methodology and GIS techniques were carried out to identify flood hazard causes, damages, and hazard zones. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative data related to flood hazards are clipped from various sources. Satellite images such as digital elevation models were generated for acquiring watershed and slope data. The data were put in the ArcMap for mapping and in SPSS for ease of statistical calculations to find the causes and damages of flood hazards. Moreover, various other tools from different applications were used such as ERDAS Imagine for Image processing and GPS application for location tracking. Main Findings: We delineated the catchment areas and different other tributaries and with the help of slope, settlements, area inundation, and past damages data we find out the flood hazard zones. These flood hazard zones were demarcated with the help of the Euclidean distance tool in which different data overlaid to others in ArcMap and through ground-truthing, we confirmed the flood hazard zones. Applications: Research results could be used for providing a recommendation to the local government authorities and communities to mitigate the flood hazard risk in the locality and improve the safety measures. Such as retaining walls to make them a little distance from levees.