Publication

FLOOD EViDENS: A WEB-BASED APPLICATION FOR NEAR-REAL TIME FLOOD EVENT VISUALIZATION AND DAMAGE ESTIMATIONS


Publication Date : 2015-01-01
Author : Santillan, J. R.Morales, E. M. O.Makinano-Santillan, M.
Countries :
Disaster Management Theme :
Disaster Type : Flood
Document Type : Research Paper
Languange : en
Link : http://publications.ccgeo.info/Paper_2015_36thACRS_TH1-6-1.pdf

Abstact :

The Web-based Near-real Time Flood Event Visualization and Damage Estimations (Flood EViDEns) is an online geo-visualization application developed through the Phil-LiDAR 1 project of Caraga State University. The application is targeted to be utilized by the Local Government Units (LGUs) and communities in the Caraga Region, Mindanao, Philippines to assist them in geospatially informed decision making in times of flood disasters. The application is an amalgamation of web mapping technology, various geospatial datasets including LiDAR-derived elevation and information products, hydro-meteorological data, and flood simulation models to visualize in near-real time the current and possible future extent of flooding and its associated damages to infrastructures. The Flood EViDEns application facilitates the release and utilization of this near-real time floodrelated information through a user-friendly front end interface consisting of web map and tables. The application's back-end consists of computers running flood simulation models and geospatial analysis to dynamically produce (in an automated manner) current and future flood extents, and tabulated information on the structures affected by flooding including hazard types. These outputs are forwarded into a PostgreSQL/PostGIS spatial database where it is accessed by the front end interface for web visualization. The information provided by Flood EViDEns is very important especially to the LGUs and the community as it can increase awareness and responsiveness of the public to the impending flood disaster. Providing this kind of information during a heavy rainfall event is useful as it could assist in preparation for evacuation, in easily identifying areas that need immediate action, in identifying areas that should be avoided, and in estimating the severity of damage to people and infrastructure as flooding progresses.