A Machine Learning Approach to Flood Depth and Extent Detection Using Sentinel 1A/B Synthetic Aperture Radar

The rising number of flooding events combined with increased urbanization is contributing to significant economic losses due to damages to structures and infrastructures. Here we present a method for producing all weather maps of flood inundation using a combination of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing data and machine learning methods that can be used to provide information on the evolution of flood hazards to DisasterAware©, a global alerting system, that is used to disseminate flood risk information to stakeholders across the globe. While these efforts are still in development, a case study is presented for the major flood event associated with Hurricane Harvey and associated floods that impacted Houston, TX in August of 2017.