Investigating the impacts of typhoon-induced floods on the agriculture in the central region of Vietnam by using hydrological models and satellite data

Abstract

Flooding associated with landing tropical cyclones (TCs) is one of the major natural hazards in the coastal region of Vietnam. Annually, approximately 5 or 6 TCs make landfall in Vietnam, bringing heavy rains and inducing flooding, particularly to the central coastal region because of its topography and geographic configuration. This study focuses on the modelling of typhoon-induced floods that have resulted in widespread damage to agriculture over the central Thua Thien Hue Province of Vietnam by coupling two well-known hydrological models, KINEROS2 and HEC-RAS (Daniel et al. in Open Hydrol J 5(1), 2011), and using GSMaP (Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation) data as the satellite rainfall input. Landsat imagery and GIS are also used for mapping and analysing the inundated areas. The discharge and water level from the KINEROS2 and HEC-RAS models displayed acceptable results for the floods modelled from three selected typhoons; both the Nash–Sutcliffe simulation efficiency coefficient (NSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2) were greater than 0.6. The simulated inundation maps of these typhoon-induced floods were compared with those extracted from the Landsat imagery to assess consistency. The result revealed a similar spatial extension of the inundated agricultural areas. This information, together with the forecasted TC movements and associated rainfalls, will be helpful to plan methods for mitigating potential typhoon-induced flooding and damage, particularly damage to agricultural regions.