Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (May 2020)

Brief communication: Hurricane Dorian: automated near-real-time mapping of the “unprecedented” flooding in the Bahamas using synthetic aperture radar

  • D. Cerrai,
  • Q. Yang,
  • X. Shen,
  • M. Koukoula,
  • E. N. Anagnostou

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-1463-2020
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20
pp. 1463 – 1468

Abstract

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In this communication, we present application of the automated near-real-time (NRT) system called RAdar-Produced Inundation Diary (RAPID) to European Space Agency Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to produce flooding maps for Hurricane Dorian in the northern Bahamas. RAPID maps, released 2 d after the event, show that coastal flooding in the Bahamas reached areas located more than 10 km inland, covering more than 3000 km2 of continental area. RAPID flood estimates from subsequent SAR images show the recession of the flood across the islands and present high agreement scores when compared to Copernicus Emergency Management Service (Copernicus EMS) estimates.