Flood induced land use and land cover change detection using remote sensing and GIS – a study of Dhadesugur and Siraguppa subwaterheds in lower Tungabhadra catchment, Karnataka

Information on land use/land cover and its changes is very essential for effective management of natural resources. Satellite data provides immense potential for timely information on land use and natural calamities like floods. Floods have become a frequent event in the state of Karnataka, during 2009 there were torrential rainfall over a short period of time due to low atmospheric pressure in Bay of Bengal and vast areas were flooded. A large area remained under water for long period of time which resulted in heavy loss of agricultural crops, damages to the properties and also to the human beings. The study reveals the adverse affects of flood on land use/land cover using multi-temporal remote sensing data of IRS P6 LISS-IV (Before Flood – 10Sep2009), and IRS P6 LISS -III (After Flood – 02Nov2009). The change detection of land use/land cover is carried out using before and after flood satellite images. The major portion of land use class in the study area are crop land, it has been converted to current fallow. The agricultural crop land before flood was 9751.27 hectares and noticed after flood event was 2413.49 hectares. The result shows 7337.78 hectares of agricultural crops was affected due to inundation. The impact of flood was not only changes the land use, it also affects on the community.