Applications of RS and GIS Techniques for Disaster Studies in East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Natural Disasters are inevitable events. The onset of occurrence is generally short period with prior warning and in many cases without. These disasters cause havoc by loss of life and property in a large scale. From time immemorial, man has been facing the wrath of the nature but could not control it. The only possibility is providing mitigation steps. The present study is an area which has a metaphor—“The rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh”—East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India, encapsulates 81°30, 82°40 East Longitude and 16°25, 18°00 North Latitude. East Godavari district is vulnerable to 4 hazards, viz. Cyclones, Floods, Landslides and Tsunamis. The climatic condition of the study area is semi humid with an annual rainfall of 1200 mm, temperature range between 23.5 and 45.9 °C. The District is flanked on the North by Visakhapatnam District, South by Krishna district, West by West Godavari District with a part of Telangana State and on the East by Bay of Bengal covering an area of 10,807 km2. Naturally the study area classified by Uplands, Plains and Delta made up of Gondwana sand stones, Basalt, Ash Beds and rich minerals. The Godavari and its distributaries named Gowthami and Vasistha River provide the surface water. Mapping of Land use/land cover, Geology, Geomorphology, Rainfall, DEM were prepared to generate Flood Zonation Map, Shoreline Change Map, etc. using Landsat-8 data processed over ArcGIS and ERDAS software on 1:50,000 scale. Risk Zone map is developed for better mitigation purpose.