Multi-criteria Flood Susceptibility Assessment Using Remote Sensing and GIS-based Approaches in Chi River Basin, Thailand

Abstract

The flood susceptibility map is a comprehensive resource for forecasting and preventing floods worldwide, particularly where floods occur on a regular basis, which is missing in numerous developing-country basins. The recurring flood hazard in Thailand is an endless problem as there is still a lack of understanding of the underlying causative factors. This research provides an answer of certain flood-causative parameters and the effects on flood susceptibility in Chi River Basin (CRB), Thailand, using an Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) method. As the result, total of seven hydrogeomorphological parameters can be ranked by its influence on flood hazard in the CRB, as follows, the distance from the river, elevation, geology, soil type, land use, drainage density, and geomorphology, respectively. Combination of all flood-causative parameters based on their weights and ranks provided the flood susceptibility map. The map was evaluated as accurate relative to previous satellite-based flood maps using a binary classification test, providing a robust flood susceptibility map. The findings of this work have contributed to a decent understanding of the present problem of floods in the CRB in the context of its actual causes, which is beneficial for a water management scheme.