Google has announced the extension of its Flood Hub network to include 80 nations worldwide, including eight new African countries. The Flood Hub now serves 23 African countries. This expansion is part of AI-enabled initiatives to combat the destructive effects of flooding and give essential assistance to vulnerable areas. The Flood Hub technology now provides forecasts up to 7 days in advance, benefiting 460 million people worldwide. Flood Hub’s valuable services will now be available in countries including as Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Thailand as a result of this expansion.
Prior to this expansion, the Flood Hub platform was available in several African countries, including Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and South Africa, and it now includes 60 additional countries. Burundi, Eswatini, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, Rwanda, Senegal, and Zimbabwe are among the new countries. The inclusion of these countries guarantees that Flood Hub’s accurate and timely flood forecasting services are available to a greater range of African people facing high flood risk and extreme weather conditions.
Every year, floods kill tens of thousands of lives and cause billions of dollars in damage around the world. Their consequences are especially severe in low-resource areas that frequently lack efficient early warning systems. Flood Hub allows communities to take proactive actions and make informed decisions to reduce the disastrous consequences of floods by providing innovative flood forecasting tools to governments, humanitarian organizations, and individuals.
To improve flood preparedness even further, Google is expanding flood alerts through Search and Maps notifications, ensuring that people have easy access to timely and crucial flood information. This extension intends to enable more people to take the required steps in order to protect lives and property.
“We recognize the significant impact that floods have on communities around the world, particularly in areas with limited resources and vulnerable populations,” said Yossi Mattias, Vice President of Engineering and Research and Crisis Response Lead. “We are committed to expanding the reach of the Flood Hub platform in order to support these communities and provide accurate flood forecasting that can help save lives and protect livelihoods.”
Since 2019, charity organizations have been collaborating with Google.org to develop offline alerting networks, recognizing that some areas have restricted access to cell phones or the internet. These networks are intended to rely on trained and trustworthy community volunteers who play an important role in expanding the reach of Flood Hub’s warnings. As a result, even those without internet access can receive life-saving flood alerts, assuring their safety during times of disaster.
