Remote Sensing based Flood Susceptibility and Building-at-Risk Estimation for Urban Kochi.

This study assessed flood susceptibility in the Kochi Metropolitan Area (KMA) by integrating twelve thematic layers using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques through Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results indicated that 19.2 % of the area is under extremely high risk and 19.6 % under high risk. The top two most susceptible regions were intersected with the building footprint data to get number of buildings at risk. The Expose of buildings to flood hazard were quantified and 49833 buildings are under extreme risk of flood. Additionally, daily dam release and rainfall data were considered for getting a better understanding of the sensitivity of the study area. The study analyzed the 2018 and 2019 Kerala floods. The generated susceptibility maps were validated with flood water level estimated by KSDMA. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted flood mitigation strategies and enhanced urban planning to address the risks in flood-prone areas.