Determination of the flooded agricultural lands with spot 6 high resolution satellite images: A case study of menderes plain, turkey

This research aims to determine the flooded agricultural lands after the flood that occurred in April 2015 on the Menderes Plain. The unexpected heavy and continuous precipitation in spring season induced a flash flood on the Menderes River, which directly damaged the agricultural lands. The flooded areas are determined by geographic object based GEOBIA classification of normalized difference water index (NDWI) data calculated from after-disaster SPOT 6 satellite image and land cover type of the flooded areas are verified from pre-disaster SPOT 6 satellite image. Moreover, topographic characteristics of the flooded areas are produced from open access ALOS W3D DSM data in order to investigate the relationship between the flood and topography. Results of this research exhibited that, optical satellite images are feasible data sources in determining flooded areas due to unique reflectance responses of them especially in the green and near infrared portions of the spectrum. Both flood extent and agricultural parcels affected by the flood are accurately mapped by using SPOT 6 image and GEOBIA approach.