Google has announced the expansion of the Flood Hub platform, which predicts floods with the help of artificial intelligence for up to seven days in advance, also to Slovenia. He has expanded the service to 80 countries.
Google has long been working to use artificial intelligence to address the climate crisis, help vulnerable communities stay safe and adapt to the impact of climate change, the company wrote in press release. As part of these efforts, they are expanding their flood forecasting capacity to 80 countries in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and South and Central America, including Slovenia.
Governments, humanitarian organizations and individuals will now be able to use the Google platform Flood Hub access important information for a period of up to seven days in advance and thus be able to prepare or adapt to predicted floods. The company is also working to expand flood warnings on Google Search and Maps, with the goal of making information available to users when they need it most, it said.
The platform currently includes some of the regions with the highest percentages of population exposed to flood risks, such as the Netherlands, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. It also includes countries that experience more extreme weather, such as Belgium, Spain and Germany in Europe, and the Central American Dry Corridor in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.
Artificial intelligence processes diverse, publicly available data sources such as weather forecasts and satellite imagery. The technology then combines a hydrological model, which predicts the amount of water flowing in the river, and a flood model, which predicts which areas will be affected and how deep the water will be.
Flood Hub is part of Google’s Crisis Response system, which aims to provide people with access to trusted information and resources at critical times – including fires and earthquakes. For more than a decade, they have been working with emergency responders to develop technology and programs that help keep people safe, informed and out of harm’s way, the company said.
Source: Rtvslo
