Integrating Radar Backscattering and Flood Water Depth Information for Improved Flood Mapping: A Case Study in Houston City

Houston is a large city with a population of over 2.3 million people, making it the fourth most populous city in the United States. It is known for its well-developed infrastructure and is a major economic center, but it is also vulnerable to flooding due to its low elevation, flat topography, and location along the Gulf Coast. Flooding is a major concern in coastal regions of Houston city because it can cause significant damage to buildings, infrastructure, and natural environments, as well as pose a serious risk to human safety. Hence, in this paper, a case study on flood in Houston city during Harvey-2017 has been conducted by integrating radar backscattering (Sentinel-1 SAR) and flood water depth information (FWDI), derived from flood depth tool (FWDT) using publicly available data in order to circumvent limitations in data access and improve flood mapping.