Catchment-scale flood modeling using IMERG satellite based precipitation and WordView-2 imagery. A Case study of Les Cayes, South coast of Haiti.

Abstract

The Hurricane Matthew was one of the most recent catastrophic events to impact the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and the Southeastern United States in October of 2016. In Haiti, the powerful winds and heavy rainfall caused storm surges and major flooding through the entire country, devastating the western edge and the south coast of Haiti. Considering the tremendous lack of hydrometeorological data in the country and the high cost and institutional capacity needed to collect and manage field measurement; this study investigated the use and usefulness of remote sensing data for integrated flood modeling at a catchment scale in the South region of Haiti. In particular, the study evaluated the suitability of the use of Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) product, to estimate extreme rain events in the South region of Haiti. Secondly, the research investigated the possibility of using multispectral and high-resolution optical images, to delineate the extent of the Matthew flood episode occurred in the catchment of Les Cayes. Furthermore, the study tested the potential of IMERG satellite product and WordView-2 images as sources of information for simulate the flooding episode and calibrate the modeling.