Objective: This research analyzed inundation points for specific extreme occurrences in the municipality of Governador Valadares, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, by remote sensing and hydrological characterization of the area, compared to governmental field research results reports.
Theoretical Framework: The remote sensing application in hydrogeological analyses has become increasingly frequent and promising.
Method: The study selected fluviatile and pluviometric data in hydrogeologic analysis, flow rate, rainfall, and monthly and annual quota, selected orbital images from the Landsat 4-5 satellite, provided by the United States Geological Service (USGS) between 1990 and 2009, which applied the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index – MNDWI technique, and then vectorized the images to define the inundation areas.
Results and Discussion: The data pointed out that the rainy season is between October and March, corresponding to the municipality’s inundation history. For the inundation quota of 461 cm, the neighbors São Paulo, JK I, JK II, and Jardim Alice are the main affected areas. The obtained results were compatible with the CPRM report (2004) and other related studies.
Research Implications: The article points out that image analysis is a primary tool to delimit the inundation areas, providing economy of resources, time, and results with a quality compatible with the fieldwork.
Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by the method becomes potentially applicable to other cities and points out as an auxiliary tool to map areas that may undergo floods and manage disaster risks.