In this day and age, where extreme climate events, including floods and wildfires, have become a common phenomenon, timely alerts can be the difference between life and death. Therefore, to help solve this issue, Google introduced Flood Hub last year, a tool designed to provide advance warnings to individuals in vulnerable areas. Now, Google has taken another step towards helping people in times of crisis by announcing the expansion of Flood Hub to over 60 new countries.
Why is predicting floods important?
While cities in first-world countries may already have measures in place for predicting floods, a UN report states that nearly half of our planet lacks adequate early warning systems for disasters like floods. Therefore, with the rise of climate change and the increasing prevalence of threats like floods, it is now more important than ever to predict these events accurately. And this is where Google came into the picture. With its vast amount of data and resources, the company was able to predict floods up to a week in advance, thus offering significantly more time for people to prepare when compared to previous methods.
The functioning of Flood Hub revolves around the utilization of publicly available data sources, such as weather forecasts and satellite imagery. While Google previously used water level gauges to predict floods, the required data was often unavailable in underdeveloped countries.
Therefore, Google switched techniques and combined two essential models: the Hydrologic Model, which forecasts the volume of water flowing in rivers, and the Inundation Model, which predicts the areas that will be affected and estimates the water depth.
Google Incorporating Flood Hub in Search
In an effort to make it easier for people to access vital information, the company is also working on making Flood Hub information available on Search and Maps. However, it’s important to note that Google’s Flood Hub currently focuses on tracking riverine floods and does not include flash floods or coastal events.
The recent expansion of Flood Hub to over 60 additional countries across Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and South and Central America represents a significant stride in leveraging AI to tackle climate-related challenges. In addition to floods, Google is also using its vast resources to track wildfires in countries like Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Australia.