Geographic information system and AHP-based flood hazard zonation of Vaitarna basin, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Flood is one of the most common natural hazard that take place almost everywhere around the world except the polar regions. Flood damage can be reduced through implementing proper management and policies. Flood is a common hazard in Vaitarna basin, Maharashtra, and occurs once in every 2 to 3 years; it causes severe damage to life and properties. Present days, remote sensing and geographic information system are very comprehensive tools for the assessment of hydrological analysis and hazard management. These tools are also capable to deliver quite an accurate result in a cost- and time-effective manner. Thus, in this paper, an attempt has been made to identify critical zones, which are having a higher vulnerability to the flood in the Vaitarna basin through remote sensing and geospatial approach. Total nine influencing factors, such as elevation, slope, distance from the river, rainfall, flow accumulation, land use, geology, topographic wetness index, and curvature have been assessed individually as well as integrated in GIS software by assigning relative weights through the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach. As a result of this study, a final flood map has been prepared and the regions having very high flood potentiality are identified. The resultant map has shown about 20% of the total area in Vaitarna basin is having a very high probability of flood, and these regions are requiring some serious attention of governmental or non-governmental bodies to reduce the flood risk. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method proposed in this study is capable to provide an accurate result for flood mapping and can be easily applied to other regions around the world for the management and prevention of the flood hazard.