Flood hub

Google has announced the expansion of its flood forecasting capabilities to 80 countries, including Italy through Flood Hub, a platform that predicts and helps people prevent floods.

The platform uses artificial intelligence to predict floods and help us act promptly and prepare for emergencies. The technology uses several publicly available data sources such as weather forecasts and satellite images.

To calculate the forecast it combines two models: the hydrological model, which predicts the amount of water flowing in a river, and the flood model, which predicts which areas will be affected and how deep the water will be. Thanks to Flood Hub, information on locally relevant floods is available up to 7 days before the event, significantly more than last year, when it was only available 48 hours in advance.

Like weather forecasts, they may not always come true, but they will certainly be a help.

Stefano Ravizza

NP Dicembre 2023