Geomorphologically, the lower Jaldhaka River lies on the alluvial plain of the basin. The river experiences flooding above the danger level approximately once every 2 years, and flooding above the extreme danger level once every 6 years. August 2017 flood level was 1.18 m above the danger level recorded in the last 30 years. The hydromet data from the gauge and Landsat 8 OLI satellite image of pre- and post-flood events in 2017 have been used to analyze the characteristics of the floods and its effects on the river morphology. The data extraction from the satellite image was performed via the density slicing process with the equal area method and unsupervised classification in ArcGIS 10.2 and Erdas Imagine 2013, respectively. The results from the pre-and post-flood satellite imagery show a decrease of 2.84 percent in the area extent of the primary channel, and 34 percent of vegetated bars due to erosion. However, substantial in-channel deposition increased the areal extent of sandbars by 7 percent and added nearly 11 ha to the secondary channel area. The sinuosity of the primary channel has decreased to 1.19 from 1.24, while the braid index values have increased from 2.51 to 2.62 due to the lengthening of the secondary channels after the 2017 floods. Overall, the primary channel has shifted approximately 14064 m towards the southwest direction. Floods cause deposition of nearly 281 ha of the sandbar area, leading to significant alterations in the channel belt and the active floodplain. This study would help geoscientists, engineers, and policymakers to enhance the pre-flood management plans to reduce future flood damage to public and private properties.
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