How Mobile Phone Towers Could Help Monitor Rainfall in Developing Countries
Many developing economies suffer from a lack of reliable rainfall measurements due to a lack of funds and a shortage of equipment – such as gauges and radars. Even if…
Forecasting and Warning Systems
Flood forecasting and early warning systems
Researchers Develop Near Real-Time Flood Prediction Tool
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a near real-time flood prediction tool which could boost emergency response during hurricanes, such as Hurricane Harvey in 2017. By incorporating the architecture of…
Japan – Researchers Devise Powerful New Flood Monitoring System
Flooding accounts for a third of the average annual economic losses caused by natural disasters worldwide. Flood damage resulting from typhoons and torrential rainfall is increasing each year; thus, flood…
Flash Flooding Is a Serious Threat in the UK – Here’s How Scientists Are Tackling Its Prediction
It’s becoming a familiar scene on the news: sodden British people wading through streets up to their knees in flood water. From Stirling to Sheffield, many parts of the UK…
NASA Training Course – SAR for Disasters and Hydrological Applications
As part of their range of Applied Remote Sensing Training Program, NASA have introduced a further online course: SAR for Disasters and Hydrological Applications. This training, designed specifically to build…
Flood Mitigation Project Shortlisted for Award
A research project on mitigating the impacts of the devastating floods has been shortlisted for the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2019 in the United Kingdom (UK). The THE Awards…
Why Flooding Is Still So Difficult to Predict and Prepare For
Before you read this story, take a minute to stop and look around you. Now imagine your surroundings under two feet of dirty, sewage-filled water. If you’re at home, everything…
UK – Met Office and the Environment Agency Mark 10 Years of Flood Forecasting
Earlier this month the UK’s Met Office and the Environment Agency marked a 10-year partnership in flood forecasting which has saved lives, livelihoods, and protected infrastructure. The partnership has led…
Bangladesh Promises to Improve Local Flood Warnings After Complaints
DHAKA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Bangladesh will seek to improve the way it communicates flood warnings to local people in regions at risk of rising waters, a minister said on…
Why Forecasting Floods Should Be a Global Collaborative Effort
The number of people exposed to the risk of floods is rising. More and expanding human settlements are being built in flood-prone areas, especially in Africa, Asia and South America.…
Virtual Reality Helps Scare Residents to Flee Looming Storms, Research Says
NEW YORK, June 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Virtual reality simulations work better than traditional alerts in motivating people to evacuate ahead of hurricanes, research said on Friday, part of…
New Flood Prediction Technology Will Save Lives and Livelihoods Across the World
Unique, real-time street level flood prediction technology developed at Loughborough University has been commercially launched to save lives and livelihoods worldwide. Cities across the globe are increasingly vulnerable to surface…
USA – Researchers Find Patterns Associated With Extreme Floods
Extreme floods across the continental United States are associated with four broad atmospheric patterns, a machine-learning based analysis of extreme floods found. Researchers analyzed relatively rare floods in the United…
New Scale to Characterize Strength and Impacts of Atmospheric River Storms
A team of researchers led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego has created a scale to characterize the strength and impacts of “atmospheric rivers,”…
Research Reveals Large Scale Global Patterns of Extreme Rainfall
An analysis of satellite data has revealed global patterns of extreme rainfall, which could lead to better forecasts and more accurate climate models. Extreme rainfall – defined as the top…
Australia – Updated Flood Maps for Canberra Released
New flood maps for Canberra provide the most comprehensive flood risk information ever available to the Territory, Minister for Planning and Land Management Mick Gentleman said on 04 December, 2018.…
