Near real-time change detection tool for photogrammetric flood preparedness

Through the mobilization of movable objects due to the extreme hydraulic conditions during a flood event, blockages, damage to infrastructure, and endangerment of human lives can occur. To identify potential hazards from aerial imagery and take appropriate precautions, a change detection tool (CDT) was developed and tested using a study area along the Aisch River in Germany. The focus of the CDT development was on near real-time analysis of point cloud data generated by structure from motion from aerial images of temporally separated surveys, enabling rapid and targeted implementation of measures. The differences identified in the study area using distance comparison (M3C2) were segmented into individual components and categorized. Subsequently, the data was compared to existing two-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical calculation results (HQ₁₀₀). The implementation of the CDT is feasible for a variety of RGB camera-equipped aerial vehicles due to the point cloud-based analysis and postprocessing. By overlaying and visualizing the detected changes with numerical simulation results, a quick assessment of the hazard potential in the event of a possible flood can be made. In the case of the study area along the Aisch River, the localization of construction materials, a steel container with debris pile, and a motor vehicle in the flood hazard zone of a potential HQ₁₀₀ event could be confirmed, although no mobilization of the materials was to be expected due to the expected hydraulic conditions of a flood event.