Abstract
The state of Assam, primarily in the Brahmaputra basin, is one of the
most flood-prone states of India, with devastating floods occurring
every year. Rapid urbanization in the floodplains and inadequate water
management have further exacerbated the human and infrastructural
exposure to floods. Despite efforts in organizing relief camps and
setting up safe houses, flood losses in terms of life and property have
increased. This study presents a novel dataset and an approach that uses
a combination of satellite and ground-based data to assess the
population’s vulnerability to these floods. The Sentinel-1 SAR data and
India Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall data are used to
determine areas in Assam that suffered from floods during July 2020.
Additional datasets employed include the population density maps
obtained from Facebook, road density maps from the Global Roads
Inventory Project (GRIP), relief camp data from the state government,
and infrastructure data from a new national dataset sourced from the
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY). These geo-tagged datasets are
utilized to develop a vulnerability map that would help the policymakers
identify vulnerable regions and accordingly strategize infrastructure
and disaster preparedness for floods.