Statistical and qualitative evaluation of multi-sources for hydrological suitability inflood-prone areas of Pakistan

[Display omitted] •Satellite/reanalysis can be an alternate to gauge data for hydrological applications.•Results found that the MSWEP was outperformed.•The performance of all sources was quite satisfactory in the peak of flash floods. In 2010, flood hampered commercial and agricultural activities and destroyed infrastructure at large scale in Pakistan. Accurate forecasting of the flood is necessary to implement right and timely strategies to mitigate its negative impacts. Therefore, the current study emphasis on evaluation of the suitability of satellite/reanalysis precipitation data products (ERA-Interim, MSWEP, PERSIANN-CDR and TRMM) in comparison with observed rain gauge data for hydrological studies especially for flash floods analysis in the Indus River Basin, Pakistan. The various statistical and categorical matrices Bias, Nash Sutcliff, MAE, RMSE, R2, CSI, FAR, POD, percentage difference, peak error percentage, peak time error and graphical methods were used to report the divergences in the precipitation and flow. Results revealed that the MSWEP was outperformed on daily rainfall and hydrological suitability analysis based on various evaluations and all sources were captured accurate patterns. The study results indicated a potential of satellite and reanalysis data in many applications especially flood forecasting and water management where rain gauge data are not available or limited.