Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate Change

Climate change is leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding, making it necessary to consider future changes in flood risk management. In regions where ground-based observations are significantly restricted, the implementation of conventional risk assessment methodologies is a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Minjie Zhang, Xiang Fu, Shuangjun Liu, Can Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/7/1189
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849769710014431232
author Minjie Zhang
Xiang Fu
Shuangjun Liu
Can Zhang
author_facet Minjie Zhang
Xiang Fu
Shuangjun Liu
Can Zhang
author_sort Minjie Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Climate change is leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding, making it necessary to consider future changes in flood risk management. In regions where ground-based observations are significantly restricted, the implementation of conventional risk assessment methodologies is always challenging. This study proposes an integrated remote sensing and machine learning approach for flood risk assessment in data-scarce regions. We extracted the historical inundation frequency using Sentinel-1 SAR and Landsat imagery from 2001 to 2023 and predicted flood susceptibility and inundation frequency using XGBoost, Random Forest (RF), and LightGBM models. The risk assessment framework systematically integrates hazard components (flood susceptibility and inundation frequency) with vulnerability factors (population, GDP, and land use) in two SSP-RCP scenarios. The results indicate that in the SSP2-RCP4.5 and SSP5-RCP8.5 scenarios, combined high- and very-high-flood-risk areas in the Ili River Basin in China (IRBC) are projected to reach 29.1% and 29.7% of the basin by 2050, respectively. In the short term, the contribution of inundation frequency to risk is predominant, while vulnerability factors, particularly population, contribute increasingly in the long term. This study demonstrates that integrating open geospatial data with machine learning enables actionable flood risk assessment, quantitatively supporting climate-resilient planning.
format Article
id doaj-art-2bd12df967b54b77b8354224ccdbb982
institution DOAJ
issn 2072-4292
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-2bd12df967b54b77b8354224ccdbb9822025-08-20T03:03:20ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-03-01177118910.3390/rs17071189Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate ChangeMinjie Zhang0Xiang Fu1Shuangjun Liu2Can Zhang3State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaClimate change is leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding, making it necessary to consider future changes in flood risk management. In regions where ground-based observations are significantly restricted, the implementation of conventional risk assessment methodologies is always challenging. This study proposes an integrated remote sensing and machine learning approach for flood risk assessment in data-scarce regions. We extracted the historical inundation frequency using Sentinel-1 SAR and Landsat imagery from 2001 to 2023 and predicted flood susceptibility and inundation frequency using XGBoost, Random Forest (RF), and LightGBM models. The risk assessment framework systematically integrates hazard components (flood susceptibility and inundation frequency) with vulnerability factors (population, GDP, and land use) in two SSP-RCP scenarios. The results indicate that in the SSP2-RCP4.5 and SSP5-RCP8.5 scenarios, combined high- and very-high-flood-risk areas in the Ili River Basin in China (IRBC) are projected to reach 29.1% and 29.7% of the basin by 2050, respectively. In the short term, the contribution of inundation frequency to risk is predominant, while vulnerability factors, particularly population, contribute increasingly in the long term. This study demonstrates that integrating open geospatial data with machine learning enables actionable flood risk assessment, quantitatively supporting climate-resilient planning.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/7/1189flood risk assessmentmachine learningremote sensingIli River Basin
spellingShingle Minjie Zhang
Xiang Fu
Shuangjun Liu
Can Zhang
Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate Change
Remote Sensing
flood risk assessment
machine learning
remote sensing
Ili River Basin
title Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate Change
title_full Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate Change
title_fullStr Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate Change
title_full_unstemmed Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate Change
title_short Integrating Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Actionable Flood Risk Assessment: Multi-Scenario Projection in the Ili River Basin in China Under Climate Change
title_sort integrating remote sensing and machine learning for actionable flood risk assessment multi scenario projection in the ili river basin in china under climate change
topic flood risk assessment
machine learning
remote sensing
Ili River Basin
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/7/1189
work_keys_str_mv AT minjiezhang integratingremotesensingandmachinelearningforactionablefloodriskassessmentmultiscenarioprojectionintheiliriverbasininchinaunderclimatechange
AT xiangfu integratingremotesensingandmachinelearningforactionablefloodriskassessmentmultiscenarioprojectionintheiliriverbasininchinaunderclimatechange
AT shuangjunliu integratingremotesensingandmachinelearningforactionablefloodriskassessmentmultiscenarioprojectionintheiliriverbasininchinaunderclimatechange
AT canzhang integratingremotesensingandmachinelearningforactionablefloodriskassessmentmultiscenarioprojectionintheiliriverbasininchinaunderclimatechange