Rapid Flood Inundation Mapping and Flood Shelter Suitability Analysis in Bangladesh
Floods are frequent natural hazards that produce an unusual water overflow that submerges a large area, affecting the frontline communities, their livelihood, environmental vulnerability, and increasing social and economic consequences. In the past few decades, average flood frequency, intensity, and duration have increased, seriously impacting low-lying countries. Knowing the areas inundated by floods is essential to mitigate the effects of the disaster. With timely flood information and early warnings, agencies and organisations involved in disaster management can speed up emergency response for relief and rescue measures. Rapid flood maps provide crucial inputs for assessing the extent of inundation areas and flood severity. In this masterclass, we will demonstrate a reproducible and automated method based on Google Earth Engine (GEE) to generate rapid flood magnitude data nationally. The seminar will enable the timely production of GIS and remote sensing data layers, along with the procedure of identifying suitable locations for flood shelters, enhancing disaster preparedness in Bangladesh.
Mr. Kabir Uddin
GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist at International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Mr. Kabir Uddin has eighteen years of professional experience at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal, leading GIS and Remote Sensing environmental management. As a GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist at ICIMOD, he supervises and coordinates various aspects of GIS and remote sensing work. He is experienced in preparing a wide range of training manuals on mapping land cover, glaciers, flood hazards, and the suitability of flood shelters. He also conducts professional training in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) countries. Mr. Kabir analyses optical and radar remote sensing data during flood disaster events for rapid flood inundation mapping and damage assessment systems. He works as a land cover thematic lead for SERVIR-HKH (a USAID-NASA Partnership), Land Cover and Ecosystem Services at ICIMOD to build the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System in close collaboration with various national and international organisations to generate consistent land cover maps on an annual basis. In addition, Mr. Kabir regularly publishes articles in peer-reviewed journals. Before joining ICIMOD, he worked as a GIS Expert at the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Bangladesh.