This is an article from the Summer 2015 VPS. For more VPS articles, click here.
CREST Model Inputs, Ochape Sub-basin, District of Cascas, Peru. Image Credit: Josh Hammes
Category:åÊResponding to Hydrologic Disasters
Project Team: Peru Disasters II
Team Location: Wise County Clerk of Court’s Office, Wise, Virginia
Authors:
William Wilson
Grant Bloomer
Allison Daniel
Anthony Donzella
Josh Hammes
Mentors/Advisors:
Dr. Kenton Ross (NASA DEVELOP National Program)
Dr. DeWayne Cecil (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
Abstract:
In recent years, natural disasters have afflicted the rural regions of Peru. Large flooding events in 2008, 2013, and 2014 disrupted central highlands districts, including the Cascas district of the Gran Chimu province about 110 km inland from the coastal city of Trujillo. The primary study area was the Ochape river sub-basin near the city of Cascas, the capital of the Gran Chimu province. In partnership with Water For People and the Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil Del Peru (INDECI), this project created resources and tools necessary for flood risk assessment projects in the Cascas district of Peru. NASA Earth observations were used as inputs in the Coupled Routing and Excess Storage (CREST) Distributed Hydrological Model, which was developed by the University of Oklahoma in collaboration with NASA SERVIR. These inputs include Digital Elevation Models (DEM) and related data from the HydroSHEDS portfolio of NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), rainfall data collected by Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and Landsat 8 imagery. All final maps, models, datasets, and tutorials developed in this project will enable Water For People and the local government to be more equipped in analyzing seasonal flood patterns.