The Effect of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Flood Occurrence in Teunom Watershed, Aceh Jaya

The change in land use and land cover in upstream watersheds will change the features of drainage systems such that they will impact surface overflow and affect the infiltration capacity of a land surface, which is one of the factors that contributes to flooding. The key objective of this study is to identify vulnerable areas of flooding and to assess the causes of flooding using ground-based measurement, remote sensing data, and GIS-based flood risk mapping approaches for the flood hazard mapping of the Teunom watershed. The purposes of this investigation were to: (1) examine the level and characteristics of land use and land cover changes that occurred in the area between 2009 and 2019; (2) determine the impact of land use and land cover changes on the water overflow and infiltration capacity; and (3) produce flood risk maps for the Teunom sub-district. Landsat imagery of 2009, 2013, and 2019; slope maps; and field measurement soil characteristics data were utilized for this study. The results show a significant increase in the use of residential land, open land, rice fields, and wetlands (water bodies) and different infiltration rates that contribute to the variation of flood zone hazards. The Teunom watershed has a high and very high risk of ~11.98% of the total area, a moderate risk of 56.24%, and a low and very low risk of ~31.79%. The Teunom watershed generally has a high flood risk, with a total of ~68% of the area (moderate to very high risk). There was a substantial reduction in forest land, agricultural land, and shrubs from 2009 to 2019. Therefore, the segmentation of flood-risk zones is essential for preparation in the region. The study offers basic information about flood hazard areas for central governments, local governments, NGOs, and communities to intervene in preparedness, responses, and flood mitigation and recovery processes, respectively.