Juliette Murphy
Co-Founder & CEO of FloodMapp
With the unpredictability of weather patterns and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, having access to up-to-date and accurate information is crucial. This is where real-time flood intelligence steps in.
FloodMapp is a technology company that can, for the first time, provide real-time flood intelligence at scale to emergency managers, governments, and critical infrastructure agencies. FloodMapp’s mission is to build a safer future by saving lives and reducing the impacts of flooding.
The impact maps, displayed via FloodMapp products ForeCast, NowCast, and PostCast, provide unrivalled situational awareness to inform decision-making before, during, and after a flood event. This can enable targeted evacuations and resource distribution and assist with risk mitigation and damage assessments.
To do this, FloodMapp has developed the world-first flood modelling technology that provides highly accurate, real-time, property-level dynamic flood inundation and depth insights. The technology has been developed by a multidisciplinary team of industry professionals and academics consisting of flood engineers, hydrologists, data scientists, and software developers.
FloodMapp’s technology platform is called DASH (Dynamic Automated Scalable Hydroinformatics). It combines traditional engineering approaches (hydrology and hydraulics) with cutting-edge science and technology (machine learning and automation).
Reading in real-time and forecasted rainfall and river height data from trusted sources, DASH delivers map layers to clients every hour. FloodMapp products have resolutions of 1-25 metres and can scale to national views. FloodMapp’s coverage currently includes most of the eastern USA and eastern Australia and is rapidly growing. FloodMapp’s scale and reliability are achieved through deployment on cloud infrastructure (Amazon Web Services).
Flood Forecasting & Effective Flood Management
FloodMapp’s rapid and automated flood forecasting and modelling system is designed for operational purposes for emergency management. By being able to run in real-time, it can serve dynamic updates of flood extent and impact as a rain event progresses and the river heights change. This live flood intelligence provides vital situational awareness to emergency managers in an emergency operations centre which can be used for informed decision-making and subsequently a targeted flood response.
FloodMapp ForeCast
ForeCast is their predictive mapping product that answers the question: “Where is it going to flood, and what people, property, and critical infrastructure will be impacted?”
FloodMapp developed ForeCast to help emergency managers and relevant agencies in the short-term preparation phase of a flood event, specifically up to 72 hours before.
Seeing the extent and depth of a flood on a map, before it happens, can greatly assist with evacuations and proactive deployment of resources to specific locations. It can also trigger business continuity plans for businesses in preparation for what’s to come.
In March 2021, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services used FloodMapp ForeCast in their Esri ArcGIS system during a flood event to overlay against property data to identify specific properties that may be at risk of impact, and then deploy teams to door-knock those properties to help them begin evacuation plans and prepare for a possible flood. This directly improved public safety outcomes for communities.
Read the full case study here: https://www.floodmapp.com/forecast-queensland
FloodMapp NowCast
NowCast answers the question: “What is the extent of the flooding right now?”
It’s a dynamic, live map that updates every hour and shows the current extent and depth of a flood in real time.
This enables emergency managers and relevant agencies to see the locations that are currently impacted by floodwater and limits the need to send personnel into dangerous environments to verify reports. It also helps with the distribution of resources, like swiftwater rescue technicians, to where they’re needed most.
The real-life impacts of this technology also include identifying properties that have become isolated by floodwater when communication methods are limited or knowing what critical assets need urgent attention.
In the city of Norfolk, Virginia, hyper-localised flood inundation mapping based on short-term rainfall forecast data helps to reroute drivers around flooded roads. FloodMapp’s NowCast product has been integrated with the navigation app Waze in Norfolk to advise drivers of which roads are flooded or closed in real time to help them avoid those locations and get home safely.
Read the full case study here: https://www.floodmapp.com/nowcast-virginia
FloodMapp PostCast
PostCast answers the question: “What was the maximum extent of the flood and what was impacted?”
This technology provides a map of the maximum flood extent as the water has begun to recede. The extent is updated every 12 hours and is available for up to 30 days after the peak of the flood, providing sufficient time for emergency managers and asset owners to keep a record of the event.
Understanding the geographical extent of the flood peak is incredibly useful for verifying claims of flood damage, undertaking recovery resource allocation and planning, and managing logistics of gaining access to impacted areas and fast-tracking the recovery process.
By delivering a product that shows areas where water has receded every 12 hours, recovery planning activities can commence in upstream areas before the flood has passed through the system. PostCast gives you the best chance of effective and efficient recovery efforts to reduce ongoing damage and community distress.
FloodMapp has partnered with the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help them better understand the source, location, and depth of floodwaters. PostCast will enable the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to estimate the impacts of flood events more accurately to inform its actions in support of policyholders.
Read more about how FEMA will use it to assist with claims and damage assessments here: https://www.floodmapp.com/post/floodmapp-delivers-real-time-intelligence-to-fema
The Benefits of Using FloodMapp’s ForeCast
Knowing the exact locations that will be impacted by floodwaters, and to what extent, before it happens, is a game-changer in disaster preparation. It can assist with actions like evacuations, proactive asset protection, and resource deployment.
FloodMapp understands that knowing when a river may peak and at what time, as described in current flood warnings, is difficult to translate into real-life impacts.
So, FloodMapp’s world-first technology takes a collection of data sets and translates it into a specific flood extent and impacts like what roads, bridges, and buildings are forecast to be affected. Put simply, where current warnings can tell you the predicted height of a river peak, FloodMapp produces a statewide impact map at street level showing which properties or assets on your street will be impacted.
When resources are scarce, knowing the exact locations that will be impacted is key to ensuring assistance is being directed to the areas that need it most. There is no need to pre-emptively shut down essential services to an entire community, leaving everyone without access, if only a percentage of the area is forecast to be impacted. It also allows for emergency services to preposition personnel, like swiftwater rescue technicians, if access to that community is forecast to be cut off.
Learn more about FloodMapp: https://www.floodmapp.com/
