Giriraj Amarnath January 17, 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

1. Using satellite data to enhance
flood-risk management
Photo: Manoj Jayasuriya/IWMI
Giriraj Amarnath
January 17, 2014
Colombo, Sri Lanka
A water-secure world
www.iwmi.org

2. Flood events in the last 10 years
• 23 flood occurrences
• 500 lives lost
• 9 million people affected
• economic loss of USD 1 billion
A water-secure world
www.iwmi.org

3. What can be done to reduce impact?
If we can predict more accurately where
and when floods will occur, and how big
they will be, opportunities for mitigation
will be enhanced.
Digital geospatial flood inundation
mapping is a powerful new approach for
flood response and control that shows
floodwater extent and depth on the land
surface.
A water-secure world
www.iwmi.org

4. Space technology can help manage flooding
Flood Risk Products
• Satellite data has been used to estimate flood
frequency and extent covering entire Sri Lanka.
• Flood impact on agriculture studied at different
scales.
Agri. flooding in Polonnaruwa
• Knowledge generated here will support Disaster
Management Centre and the Irrigation
Department for mitigation, preparedness and
flood insurance index product
A water-secure world
www.iwmi.org

5. ස ස ස ස
ස ස ස ස
Thank you
Applying technology to
water management
A water-secure world
www.iwmi.org