Disaster Advances
12 (1) January (2019)
Natural Disaster Analysis and Mapping using
Remote Sensing and QGIS Tools for F-North ward,
Mumbai City, India
Sansare Darshan* and Mhaske Sumedh
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Matunga, Mumbai -400019, INDIA
*darshansansare@gmail.com; symhaske@ci.vjti.ac.in
Abstract
Flooding, landslides and water logging cause severe
hazards to human population, infrastructure, economy
and overall growth of the country. Mumbai is one of the
Metropolitan cities in India which has been frequently
affected by flooding and landslides. Since losses and
damages due to these disasters are huge, decision
makers require accurate information of the affected
area for developing appropriate flood protection,
warning and evacuation system for reducing the
severity. The objective of this study is to carry out
hazard analysis and its thematic mapping for F-North
ward, Mumbai using QGIS tools and techniques. The
areas and the number of buildings, roads, railways and
population dwellings affected by Flooding, Landslides
and water logging were analyzed by taking different
buffers from the above hazard prone zones. Significant
damages to life and property were found out from the
analysis which is an alarming situation to control and
mitigate the damages caused by these Natural hazards.
GIS and remote sensing provide an efficient way to
identify and locate natural hazard-prone areas, unsafe
structures and resources. Hazard maps and database
generated from this study by QGIS software is of
immense importance for Government bodies,
institutions and policy makers who can prepare
disaster management plans more effectively.
Keywords: Flood Mapping, Hazard Analysis, Hazard
Mapping, QGIS, Remote sensing.
Literature
Natural hazards impact on life of people, infrastructure,
economy and overall growth of the city.8 Coastal urban
megacities like Mumbai have limitations on discharge
capabilities of the drainage system due to the tide levels and
backwater problems.5,6 For satisfying the needs of human
beings, the encroachment of hutments and infrastructure
along the alignment of the river and drainage system result
in flooding of metropolitan cities like Mumbai, India.17
Sowmya et al14 developed flood vulnerability maps for
Cochin City, India. After the analysis, using multi-criteria
evaluation approach with GIS environment using remote
sensing images, it was found that the major factors of
flooding are the blockage of drain and tidal influences.
Wright et al16 proposed that flood occurs when the sea level
40
Vol.
rises above the coastal lands due to tidal sea and sea surges.
The flooding of settlements, industrial areas and facilities in
recent years, along with an appreciation of the likely
consequences of climate change, has brought the problem of
flooding to the attention of the media and the general public.
Also, assessment of flood plain and flood hazard mapping
requires an integration of geomorphologic, hydrological and
hydraulic methods.11
Flood hazard zoning map provides the information to the
inhabitants of the flood-prone area about possible flooding
consequences and can be used as an effective tool to reduce
the damages by establishing an appropriate flood protection,
warning and evacuation system.15 Implementation of the
flood protection system can potentially help to lessen flood-
induced hazards and control the loss of human/animal lives
and economic losses within the flood-prone areas.9 Rainfall
is natural phenomenon, so the occurrence of future flood
disasters cannot be prevented fully.
However, suitable flood mitigation and management
measures can reduce the severity of the impact.2 The urban
flood hazard maps can be used as a tool for mitigation
planning and to identify the areas of the city which require
additional infrastructure.1,3,18
As Mumbai being a coastal city surrounded by sea and creek,
it is vulnerable to flooding when heavy rainfall occurs
together with high tide conditions. Existing storm water
drainage system of Mumbai city has 45 outfalls below mean
sea level, 135 outfalls above mean sea level but below high
tide level and 6 outfalls above high tide level.4 So, a major
problem in Mumbai is water logging due to improper drain
of rainfall runoff by the old drainage system. Geographic
Information System (GIS) is a computer-based information
system capable of capturing, storing, analyzing and
displaying geographically referenced information i.e. a
particular location/region.10
GIS provides an efficient way to identify, locate natural
hazard prone areas and unsafe structures and resources.
Hazard-vulnerability of a given area is presented through
thematic maps by compiling large amount of data. The
objective of this study is to identify water logging areas and
landslide locations and to generate thematic maps for F-
North Ward, Mumbai city by using QGIS software. Gary
Sherman began development of Quantum GIS in early 2002
and it became an incubator project of the Open Source
Geospatial Foundation in 2007. QGIS is considered as one
of the useful tools for hazard, risk analysis and mapping.
 Disaster Advances
Study Area
Mumbai city, the financial capital of India with maximum
population density is considered as study area in the present
analysis. The area is covered between 180 53’N to 190 15’N
latitude and between 720 48’E to 730 00’E longitude.
Mumbai city and its nearby suburban areas considered for
the present study cover a land of about 437sq.km. The city
is mostly prone to various natural and human-induced
hazards including floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides,
fires and industrial and chemical accidents. Almost every
year, Mumbai faces floods due to extreme rainfall. Mumbai
was originally a cluster of islands and due to demand of
space over time, many areas were reclaimed. This has
resulted in low-lying regions at or below mean sea level
causing Mumbai inherently vulnerable to floods
(Government of Maharashtra 2006).
Mumbai and its suburbs is distributed in total of 24 wards.
The map (fig. 1) digitized in QGIS software shows the ward
wise distribution in Mumbai with their areas and perimeters
determined in the attribute table. As per this data, the total
area of Mumbai and its suburbs integrate to 437 sq. km. The
(a)
Figure 1: Thematic Map (a) for Mumbai and its suburban area which shows Ward wise Flood Spots along with
boundary Map (b) for F-North ward showing Geographical Information.
41
Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)
biggest ward is “P-North” ward with “C” ward being the
smallest. Point layer is used for digitizing flood spots and
landslide markings.
The red dots in the map depict the flood spots or the area
most prone to water logging in Mumbai. It is clearly seen
that F-North is the ward with more flood spots comparative
to the other wards and hence this ward was selected for the
study. The area of F-North ward is 12.9 sq. km and is
surrounded by F-South, G-North, L and M-West ward. It is
mainly the area of study consideration in this project.
East Boundary of F-North Ward extends up to Thane Creek,
West boundary extends up to Central Railway, North
Boundary extends up to N S Mankikar road and South
boundary extends up to Mumbai Marathi Granth Sanghralay
Road and Road No 26 of Scheme No 57. It has many water
logging spots, 4 land slide locations, 9 open grounds,
gardens, around 5 parking lots, 12 major nallahs and around
63 minor nallahs, 8 storm water and sewage outfalls.
According to Census 2011, the population of F-North ward
is 5, 28, 767 and the total ward area is 12.9 sq.km.
(b)
 Disaster Advances
Methodology
For the study area, the information collected includes:
satellite images from USGS, toposheet and the field
surveyed data. The satellite images of USGS is traced by the
path 148 having row-47 and is drawn on a band of 7 for the
year 2018. Survey of India toposheet number A-47/16 for
the year 1966 was digitized for analysis use. F-North Ward,
Mumbai data is collected partly from MCGM website and
remaining by questionnaire survey F-North Ward office and
is geo-referenced in Q-GIS by using co-ordinate system
WGS 84_43 North to locate the F-North ward boundary. By
clipping the F-North ward boundary from the satellite image
it was easier to get data regarding the study area.
The F-North ward boundary, buildings, open spaces and
parcels were digitized by using polygon layer. Point layers
are created for all the famous places and transport locations
(railway stations). Line layer is created for internal roads and
(a)
Figure 2: Thematic Map (a) for F-North ward showing Natural Drain (Streams) along with Flood Spots and
Thematic map (b) for F-North Ward showing LULC Distribution of Year 2018
42
Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)
railway lines of F-North Ward. The map is digitized using
the above layer classification to generate the attribute table
containing details on the dimensions aiding in the calculation
of Land use area. The elevation, contour, natural drain line
and the watershed areas were found out by using QGIS
software.
As per the flood prone area’s data from MCGM, F-North
Ward office and the data generated taking 1m Contour
interval in QGIS software, flood and landslide spots were
marked on the digitized map using point layer. These marked
points are so digitized that one can avail information
regarding name, ward number and contour value just by
clicking on the respective flood spots. The severity of the
natural hazards namely Landslides, water areas and flood
spots were analyzed by taking 50m, 100m and 150m buffers
from the above hazard prone zones. The affected areas and
the number of buildings, roads, railways and population
dwellings were found out.
(b)
 Disaster Advances
This map particularly shows that the F-North Ward of
Mumbai with its boundary line. The blue lines present in the
map indicate the natural drain path of flow of water
generated by using QGIS software. Flood spots present in
this ward are indicated by red dots in the map. It is seen that
the areas which are prone to water logging during monsoons
are King Circle, Dadar T.T, Near Hindmata and Sion Circle,
all of which come under the area of study.
In the fig. 3 Thematic map LULC like building constructed
area, road, open spaces, parcel etc. are digitized in QGIS
software by using polygon and segment layer and attribute
table is created for finding total area. The sum of total area
Figure 3: Thematic Map for F-North Ward showing affected Roads and Building at 150m Buffer from Flood Spots.
43
Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)
calculated from attribute table for building (Constructed,
slum) is 2.348 sq.km, roads is 0.72 sq.km, footpath is 0.40
sq.km, open spaces is 3.41 sq.km and parcel is 8.4 sq.km.
This is the combined map of all the layers which shows
LULC distribution in a systematic way. It can surely help
town planners for a proper future development. This map is
helpful in deciding the election boundaries as per the area.
Road widening schemes can be checked for implementation
by usage of this map as it also depicts the current usage of
the property. A proper government scheme can raise the
development funding for this zone. As seen from the map,
about 0.98 sq.km of area comes under the residential slum.
 Disaster Advances
Results and Discussion
In the thematic map, attempt was made in QGIS software to
identify how many roads and buildings get affected. This
map shows the number of affected roads and buildings
taking a buffer of 150 m from the flood spots. It was found
that 82 roads and 471 buildings get affected in such vicinity
of the areas. This figure clearly shows the urgency of step
needed to be taken by government bodies as the population
density is more in such areas. Disaster management
committees can carry out effective measures to reduce the
loss of lives and properties caused by such natural hazard. It
is needed to find out Information related to the properties
that might get affected and also convey the alert message to
the people and transfer them from affected areas to the safer
place. It is important to shutoff the electric supply in those
areas to avoid disastrous situations. Pumping stations should
be installed in such areas to remove the water from
waterlogged area.
Figure 4: Thematic Map for F-North Ward showing affected Roads and Building at 150m Buffer
from Land Slide Spots.
44
Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)
In the fig. 4 of thematic map, an attempt was made in QGIS
software to identify how many roads and buildings get
affected. This map shows the number of affected roads and
buildings taking a buffer of 150 m from the land slides. It
was found that the number of 10 roads and 39
buildings/slums affected in such vicinity of the areas. The
map shows most dense slums surrounded by the landslide
location which causes huge damage to the life and property.
If such conditions arise, then there are no proper roads with
appropriate width which are relatively smaller causing
impedance in the rescue operations. The landslides occurring
in these areas are mostly in the slum areas due to which
retaining wall should be constructed and measures should be
taken to rehabilitate those peoples. Tackling such conditions
requires proper attention, special disaster management
technique, training and guidance to the people under
MCGM, disaster management and planning committees.
 Disaster Advances
The natural stream flow can be predicted from this data.
Most of the flood spots are present near to this stream line.
Heavy rainfall causes water overflow which leads to water
logging in the surrounding areas of the river. This
information of the stream flow and the waterlogged areas is
useful in modifying the SWD (Storm water Drain) to give a
better outfall for water discharge. In the above figure, an
attempt was made in QGIS software to identify how many
roads and buildings get affected. This map (Fig. 5) shows the
number of affected roads and buildings taking a buffer of
150 m from the streams generated in QGIS. It was found that
the number of 235 roads and 1509 buildings/slums affected
in such vicinity of the areas. This data which is generated
Figure 5: Thematic Map for F-North Ward showing affected Roads and Building at 150m Buffer
from Natural Streams.
45
Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)
can provide information to MCGM (Municipal Corporation
of Greater Mumbai), town planners and disaster
management committees who can take serious decisions on
future prevention.
Natural drain or streams which carry storm water generally
over flows due to heavy rains and the surrounding area gets
damaged or waterlogged. Since, huge damage takes place
just only 150m from streams, this area is considered as a
flood prone zone. The encroachment along the river banks
which is mainly responsible for the damage of river
catchments should be prevented.
 Disaster Advances
This map (Fig. 6) shows the major water bodies in the F-
North Ward areas with their flow direction. It is clearly seen
that most of saltpan present in F-North ward are surrounded
by sea and marshy land present in the study area. In the
above figure attempt was made in QGIS software to identify
how many roads and buildings get affected. This map (Fig.
6) shows the number of affected roads and buildings taking
a buffer of 150 m from the water areas. It was found that the
number of 142 buildings and 46 roads are affected in the
Figure 6: Thematic Map for F-North ward showing affected Buildings and Roads at 150m Buffer from Water bodies
46
Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)
vicinity of the areas. These water bodies have tendency to
over flow during the time of heavy rains causing water
logging in surrounding areas.
Barrier walls can obstruct this overflow up to a certain limit.
If this limit exceeds, supplementary water way can also be
made to reduce the intensity. Such solutions can be taken
into consideration by Government bodies like MCGM,
disaster management and town planning committees.
 Disaster Advances Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)

Table 1
Effects on lives and properties in the vicinity of Natural Hazards.
S.N. Type Buffer Affected Affected Affected Area Affected Population
Building Road (Sq.km)
1 Flood spot 50 69 26 0.423 17,339
2 Flood spot 100 212 49 0.650 26,644
3 Flood spot 150 471 82 0.943 38,654
1 Landslide 50 7 0 0.145 5,944
2 Landslide 100 18 4 0.260 10,658
3 Landslide 150 39 10 0.417 17,093
1 Water Areas 50m 39 28 0.216 8,854
2 Water Areas 100m 92 35 0.342 14,019
3 Water Areas 150m 142 46 0.478 19,594
Natural Stream Generated 97 95 0.930 38,121
1 Natural Stream 50m 483 147 1.136 46,565
2 Natural Stream 100m 1002 195 1.426 58,452
3 Natural Stream 150m 1509 235 1.710 70,093

Affected Buildings
500 471
Number of Buildings

400

300
212 50m Buffer
200 142 100m Buffer
92 69
100 39 39 150m Buffer
7 18
0
Landslide Water Areas Flood spot
Natural Hazard Type

Figure 7: Bar charts indicating the severity of different Natural Hazards on Buildings.

Affected Roads
90 82
80
Number of Roads

70
60 49
46
50
35 50m Buffer
40 28 26 100m Buffer
30
20 10 150m Buffer
10 0 4
0
Landslide Water Areas Flood spot
Natural Hazard Type

Figure 8: Bar charts indicating the severity of different Natural Hazards on Roads.

47
Disaster Advances Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)

Affected Area
1 0.943

0.8
Area in Sq.km

0.6 0.478
0.417 50m Buffer
0.4
100m Buffer
0.2
150m Buffer
0
Landslide Water Areas Flood spot
Natural Hazard Type

Figure 9: Bar charts indicating the severity of different Natural Hazards on surrounding area.

Population affected within Population affected within

Population affected within
100m 150m
50m

28% 27% 26%

54% 52% 51%

18% 21% 23%

Floodspots landslide Water bodies Floodspots landslide Water bodies Floodspots landslide Water bodies

Figure 10: Pie charts indicating the severity of different Natural Hazards on Population.

Affected Population
50,000
38,654
40,000
Population

30,000
19,594 50m Buffer
20,000 17093
100m Buffer
10,000 150m Buffer

0
Landslide Water Areas Flood spot
Natural Hazard Type

Figure 11: Bar charts indicating the severity of different Natural Hazards on population.

Table 2
Effects on Railway line in the vicinity of Flood spots.
S.N. Type Buffer Railway line Affected Flood Spots out of 18
1 Railway line 50m 2
2 Railway line 100m 5
3 Railway line 150m 8

48
 Disaster Advances Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)

This map (Fig. 12) shows the number of affected flood spots
taking different buffers of 50m, 100m and 150m from the
rail line. The number of flood spots found out are 2, 5 and 8
respectively in the vicinity of the areas. The railway lines
through Sion and Kurla get easily affected even in a short
spell of heavy rain. The above thematic map describes the
Rail Network i.e. Central, Trans-Harbour and Harbour and
road network distribution present in F-North ward. This map
is so digitized that if one clicks on any rail line or road, the
name, total length and width can be available. This road
information can be used for finding out the shortest possible
route for ones destination. This data can be used at times of
heavy traffic damage conditions and water logged roads to
determine the supplementary road for the journey.

Figure 12: Thematic Map for F-North ward showing Flood spots at 150m Buffer from Rail line.

Affected Railway
"No. of Spots No .of Affected Railway Line spots

18 18
18

5 8
2
50m 100m 150m

Figure 13: Bar chart showing Flood spots at 50m, 100m and 150m Buffer from Railway line.

49
 Disaster Advances
Conclusion
As Mumbai being a coastal city surrounded by sea and creek,
it is vulnerable to flooding when heavy rainfall occurs
together with high tide conditions. This urges the need for
accurate information and data of the disaster-prone areas for
proper disaster management and planning. The study
presents the hazard analysis and its thematic mapping for the
F-North Ward using QGIS software. In this hazard analysis,
parameters such as building, road, area, population, railway
etc. affected by the natural hazards like Flooding and
Landslides were analyzed for its severity by taking 50m,
100m and 150m buffers from the above hazard prone areas.
From the study, it was found that flood spots cause
maximum damage to 38,654 people, 471 buildings, 82 roads,
8 locations of railway and 0.943 sq.km area considering
150m buffer from all the hazards which is a warning
situation to control and mitigate the damages.
From the study, about 0.98 sq.km or (42% of Total Built-up)
of area comes under the residential slums which are mostly
affected by natural disasters. If the present slums are
rehabilitated under SRA scheme, the zone can be used for
development of better infrastructure and other utilities thus
changing the scenario of the F-North Ward. Vulnerability
database generated from this study and thematic map
prepared by using QGIS tools and techniques have
significant importance for Government bodies, institutions
and policy makers who can strengthen the disaster
management plans effectively.
References
1. Büchele B., Kreibich H., Kron A., Thieken A., Ihringer J.,
Oberle P., Merz B. and Nestmann F., Flood-risk mapping:
contributions towards an enhanced assessment of extreme events
and associated risks, Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci., 6(4), 485–503
(2006)
2. Dewan A.M., Kumamoto T. and Nishigaki M., Flood hazard
delineation in greater Dhaka Bangladesh using an integrated GIS
and remote sensing approach, Geocarto Int., 21(2), 33–38 (2006)
3. Fernandez D.S. and Lutz M.A., Urban flood hazard zoning in
Tucman Province, Argentina, using GIS and multicriteria decision
analysis, Eng Geol., 11, 90–98 (2010)
4. FFC (Fact Finding Committee), Maharashtra State Govt.
Committee Report, (unpublished), 31–130 (2006)
5. Gupta K., Urban flood resilience planning and management and
lessons for the future: a case study of Mumbai, India, Urban Water
J., 4(3), 183–194 (2007)
6. Gupta K. and Lokanadham B., Characterization of spatial and
temporal distribution of monsoon rainfall in Mumbai, In 11th
International conference on urban drainage, Edinburgh, Scotland,
UK (2008)
50
Vol. 12 (1) January (2019)
7. Government of Maharashtra Fact Finding Committee on
Mumbai Floods, Chitale Committee Report, India (2006)
8. Hammond M.J., Chen A.S., Djordjevic S., Butler D. and Mark
O., Urban flood impact assessment: a State of the Art review,
Urban Water J., 12(1), 14–29 (2013)
9. Khan S.I., Yang H., Jiahu W., Yilmaz K.K., Gourley J., Adler
R.F., Brakenridge R.G., Policelli F. and Irwin D., Satellite remote
sensing and hydrologic modeling for flood inundation mapping in
lake Victoria Basin: implications for hydrologic prediction in
ungauged basins, IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens., 49(1), 85–95
(2011)
10. Kulkarni A.T., Mohanti J., Eldho T.I., Rao E.P. and Mohan
B.K., A web GIS based integrated flood assessment modeling tool
for coastal urban watersheds, Comput. Geosci., 64, 7–14 (2013)
11. Lastra J., Fernandez E., Diez-herrero A. and Marquinez J.,
Flood hazard delineation combining geomorphological and
hydrological methods: an example in the Northern Iberian
Peninsula, Nat Hazards, 45, 277–293, doi:10.1007/s11069-007-
9164-8 (2008)
12. Mhaske S.Y. and Choudhury D., GIS-based soil liquefaction
susceptibility map of Mumbai city for earthquake events, J Appl
Geophys., 70(3), 216–225 (2010)
13. Owrangi A.M., Lannigan R. and Simonovic S.P., Interaction
between land-use change, flooding and human health in Metro
Vancouver, Canada, Nat Hazards, doi:10.1007/s11069-014-1064-
0 (2014)
14. Sowmya K., John C.M. and Shrivasthava N.K., Urban flood
vulnerability zoning of Cochin City, southwest coast of India,
using remote sensing and GIS, Nat Hazards, 75, 1271–1286 (2015)
15. Tingsanchali T. and Karim M.F., Flood hazard and risk analysis
in the southwest region of Bangladesh, Hydrol Processes, 19,
2055–2069 (2005)
16. Wright N., Villanueva I., Bates P., Mason D.C., Wilson M. and
Pender G., Case study of the use of remotely sensed data for
modeling flood inundation on the River Severn, UK, J Hydraulic
Eng., 134, 533–540 (2008)
17. Zope P.E., Eldho T.I. and Jothiprakash V., Impacts of
urbanization on flooding of coastal urban catchment: a case study
of Mumbai City, India, J. Nat. Hazards, 75, 887–908 (2015)
18. Zope P.E., Integrated urban flood management with flood
models, hazard, vulnerability and risk assessment, Unpublished
Ph. D thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, I.I.T. Bombay,
Mumbai (2016).
(Received 22nd November 2018, accepted 20th December
2018)
*****