FLOOD MAPPING USING SAR DATA: CHALLENGES & BENEFITS

Flooding is a natural hazard with severe consequences for local populations and infrastructure. Especially when vulnerable people are affected, floods can cause catastrophic damage and loss of human life. Therefore, a rapid and adequate emergency response is crucial. Earth observation (EO) data and methods offer toolsets for analysing large-scale flood events at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This report illustrates the application of using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing for flood mapping and supporting humanitarian response. In particular, the applicability and challenges of using freely available Sentinel-1 SAR data from the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus mission were explored.