How does Google’s flood prediction system work?

Google released a new one last Tuesday (29) flood forecasterbased on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence arrival Flood Warning System It is the result of the company’s partnership with the Brazilian Geological Survey, publishing warnings and detailed information about flooded areas.

The automated system is fed by satellite images, meteorological indicators and river water level data. This prediction and warning technology is already being used in other parts of the world such as India and Bangladesh and will now be taken to 15 African countries including Colombia, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

innovation in brazil Google solutions against environmental disasters (SOS Alerts and Public Notices) will be implemented in 2 stages. Initially, the flood forecasting system will issue real-time flood-related alerts. river overflowCoverage at more than 60 locations in the country, expected to reach other regions in the coming months.

The emergency notification appears automatically before the event occurs for users near the affected areas, but can also be referenced from Google Search, Maps, and the new FloodHub platform, available on October 22. In the future, the company still has a goal of alerting via cell phone notifications.

The importance of the flood forecasting system

The idea is that the service will also be a resource for governments and organizations to develop projects related to climate risk adaptation. The reason for this is that the increased water volume in rivers and streams in recent years due to human activities has caused increasingly severe floods, which reach in less than a month, especially in summer.

For example, the rising level of the Canoas River in Santa Catarina worries the Urubici residents of Serra Catarinense. Heavy rains in recent days have already caused some spots to overflow, causing Google’s flood monitoring system to sound the alarm.

“According to the United Nations report, Brazil is one of the countries with the population most exposed to the risk of riparian flooding in the world. Between 2000 and 2019, more than 70 million people in the country were affected by the floods.

That’s why the initiative aims to provide flood-related information in a more accurate and accessible way to reduce deaths and other damage related to heavy rains.