AI Driven Water Segmentation with deep learning models for Enhanced Flood Monitoring

TL;DR

This paper evaluates deep learning models UNet, ResNet, and DeepLabv3 for pixelwise water segmentation in flood detection, using a new augmented dataset from drone, field, and social media images to improve rapid flood monitoring.

Contribution

It introduces a new flood-specific dataset and compares three deep learning models for water segmentation, providing insights into their effectiveness and applicability in flood monitoring.

Findings

UNet achieved highest segmentation accuracy.

DeepLabv3 was most effective in complex environments.

Models significantly reduced flood map generation time.

Abstract

Flooding is a major natural hazard causing significant fatalities and economic losses annually, with increasing frequency due to climate change. Rapid and accurate flood detection and monitoring are crucial for mitigating these impacts. This study compares the performance of three deep learning models UNet, ResNet, and DeepLabv3 for pixelwise water segmentation to aid in flood detection, utilizing images from drones, in field observations, and social media. This study involves creating a new dataset that augments wellknown benchmark datasets with flood-specific images, enhancing the robustness of the models. The UNet, ResNet, and DeepLab v3 architectures are tested to determine their effectiveness in various environmental conditions and geographical locations, and the strengths and limitations of each model are also discussed here, providing insights into their applicability in different scenarios by predicting image segmentation masks. This fully automated approach allows these models to isolate flooded areas in images, significantly reducing processing time compared to traditional semi-automated methods. The outcome of this study is to predict segmented masks for each image effected by a flood disaster and the validation accuracy of these models. This methodology facilitates timely and continuous flood monitoring, providing vital data for emergency response teams to reduce loss of life and economic damages. It offers a significant reduction in the time required to generate flood maps, cutting down the manual processing time. Additionally, we present avenues for future research, including the integration of multimodal data sources and the development of robust deep learning architectures tailored specifically for flood detection tasks. Overall, our work contributes to the advancement of flood management strategies through innovative use of deep learning technologies.