ABSTRACT
Floods are among the top-ranking natural disasters in terms of annual cost in insured and uninsured losses. Since high-impact events often cover spatial scales that are beyond traditional regional monitoring operations, remote sensing, in particular from satellites, presents an attractive alternative. Since the 1970s, there have been many studies in the scientific literature about mapping and monitoring of floods, using satellite imagery. The sensors and data-processing techniques that exist to derive information about floods from remotely sensed images are numerous. Instruments that record flood events may operate in the visible to infrared range and microwave (radar) range of the electromagnetic spectrum. There is now a consensus among space agencies, numerous organizations, scientists, and end users to strengthen the support that satellite missions can offer, particularly in assisting flood disaster response activities. This has stimulated more research in this area, and significant progress has been achieved in recent years in fostering our understanding of the ways in which remote sensing can support flood monitoring and assist in emergency response activities.
This chapter reviews the algorithms, products, and services that currently exist to deliver actionable information about an ongoing flood disaster to emergency response operations. It also critically discusses requirements, challenges, and perspectives for improving operational assistance during flood disaster by using satellite remote-sensing products.
