Open Access

ARTICLE

Spatio-Temporal Flood Inundation Dynamics and Land Use Transformation in the Jhelum River Basin Using Remote Sensing and Historical Hydrological Data

Ihsan Qadir¹, Usama Naeem², Ahmed Nouman³, Aamir Raza⁴, Jun Wu^1,*

1 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225127, China
2 Department of Irrigation and Drainage, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan
3 Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, 64200, Pakistan
4 Precision Agriculture Center, Department of Soil, Water and Climate, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA

* Corresponding Author: Jun Wu. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Geospatial Techniques for Precision Agriculture and Water Resources Sustainability)

Revue Internationale de Géomatique 2025, 34, 831-853. https://doi.org/10.32604/rig.2025.069020

Received 12 June 2025; Accepted 13 October 2025; Issue published 10 November 2025

Abstract

The Jhelum River Basin in Pakistan has experienced recurrent and severe flooding over the past several decades, leading to substantial economic losses, infrastructure damage, and socio-environmental disruptions. This study uses multi-temporal satellite remote sensing data with historical hydrological records to map the spatial and temporal dynamics of major flood events occurring between 1988 and 2019. By utilizing satellite imagery from Landsat 5, Landsat 8, and Sentinel-2, key flood events were analyzed through the application of water indices such as the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and the Modified NDWI (MNDWI) to delineate flood extents. Historical discharge data from key hydrological control points, including Mangla Dam and Rasul Barrage, were incorporated to validate and interpret flood intensity and inundation patterns. Flood footprints were extracted and mapped using pre- and post-flood images in Google Earth Engine, while land use and land cover (LULC) analysis revealed a consistent increase in built-up areas and a corresponding decline in vegetative cover in flood-prone tehsils from 1988 to 2023. Findings indicated that the flood years 1992 and 1997 were the most catastrophic, with over 180 km² of land submerged. A substantial proportion of inundated zones consisted of agricultural land and low-lying urban settlements, underscoring the vulnerability of these areas. This study proved the effectiveness of integrating satellite imagery and historical hydrological data for spatio-temporal flood monitoring and provides essential insights for future flood risk assessment and the development of site-specific mitigation strategies in vulnerable areas of the Jhelum River Basin.

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