Jammu & Kashmir Floods, April 2015
Heavy rains occurred in Jammu & Kashmir during last week of March, 2015. This has resulted in rise in the water levels of Jhelum river and
inundation of several low lying areas in the Kashmir valley.
NRSC / ISRO has kept a constant watch on the situation and programmed the satellites for quick acquisition of satellite data over Kashmir
valley region. Using microwave satellite data of March 27, 2015 from Indian RISAT-1, which can provide information on floods even during
cloudy conditions. The inundated area map of Kashmir valley is prepared and hosted in Bhuvan NDEM (public) and this information was shared
with MHA, NDMA, Govt of J&K. The GIS flood layers were sent to Dept of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing (Govt of J&K) for further
value addition and utilization as per the local requirements.
The Canadian microwave satellite Radarsat-2 was also programmed for March 31, 2015 (06:00 hrs IST) acquisition and the analysis of the
image indicated additional inundation was particularly in Ananthnag area. This information was also disseminated to the concerned. RISAT-1
was also programmed for March 31, 2015 (18:00 hrs IST) and April 2,2015 (18:00 hrs IST). Efforts are also made to acquire more satellite data
from other countries under the frame work of ‘International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’’ for frequent and detailed coverage
All this information was also made available through Bhuvan NDEM (public) and NDEM (Private) portals.
Fig-1: RISAT-1 satellite data of March 27,2015 showing inundation due to heavy rains (cyan colour)
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Fig-2: RADARSAT-2 satellite data of March 31, 2015 (06:00 HRS IST) showing inundation due to heavy rains and floods (cyan colour)
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Fig-3: Flood inundation during March 27-31, 2015 (Yellow colour indicates recession, dark blue indicates progression, light blue
indicates persistence)
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