Watching out for floods before they happen

Advances in computing, modelling and remote sensing are enabling improvements in flood risk analysis. Ambiental FloodWatch® provides flood forecasting and alerting, alongside live impact forecasts which help safeguard people and property. The Earth and Sea Observation System (EASOS) is a pioneering UK Space Agency project funded under the International Partnership Programme providing actionable intelligence technologies for environmental risk management and emergency response coordination.

The EASOS Flood Watch dashboard provides flood monitoring and visualisation tools for displaying flood maps and a range of flood risk quantification outputs. Ambiental flood decision support tools form integral system components, which are delivered through a command and control dashboard interface.

EASOS services are currently being used in Malaysia where a beta system is deployed which is already providing tangible benefits to the Malaysian Government. A range of Ambiental’s products and services are supporting Malaysia and have provided assistance throughout the severe monsoon flood season. Alongside the flood forecasting capabilities of FloodWatch® Ambiental’s modellers and developers have provided FloodMap™ hazard maps, FloodSat™ event monitoring layers and FloodCat™ risk analysis. Ambiental flood specialists also supported Malaysian flood response training exercises, where EASOS rapidly integrated flood data services into a disaster support field station. 

The InterFlood Asia conference in Singapore, held on the 11-12th April was a two day conference, with hands-on workshops and an international exhibition of flood management companies. Rapid population growth and urbanisation, along with extreme weather and climate change are having major impacts, with potential catastrophic consequences for life, business and the economy. Asia is one of the world’s most exposed regions. The conference brought together flooding and meteorology professionals from not just the Asia Pacific region but across the globe.

Ambiental exhibited alongside technology partners Satellite Application Catapult at the EASOS stand. Visitors were able to view a hands-on demo of the flood data visualisation system which is developed to deliver users an intuitive software platform from which to analyse flood risk before, during and after flooding occurs. The EASOS stand was located within the UK Flood Partnership (UKFP) pavilion of the exhibition. The partnership was conceived to support the growth of a high quality, UK wide flood defence industry. As a UKFP member Ambiental is joining together with like-minded organisations to tackle one of the biggest natural challenges.

A technical presentation was delivered by Ambiental in a session exploring flood mitigation and management technologies. Ambiental Product Manager Paul Drury presented to conference delegates on the EASOS Flood Watch system deployment in Malaysia. The talk described how the system offers innovative ways of combining flood data layers to provide superior forecasting capabilities in combination with sophisticated live risk analytics.

The conference proceedngs, which included sessions run by The World Bank, focused on the societal need for better weather and flood information as people become more vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change. Speakers highlighted many science and technology innovations and how next generation satellites and computer architecture are improving how to model the system. It declared that there was an appetite for many more observations and discussed challenges of data management. It discussed the growth of private sectors capabilities and the funding pressures on public bodies to increase efficiency. In a session on implementing impact-based forecast and warning services in developing countries Ambiental joined the debate to comment on the challenges of building such a system and explained how through the EASOS Flood Watch approach it was possible to deliver actionable alerts on impacted populations and sites of interest through adopting a workflow which uses an integrated flood decision support platform.

Singapore’s Suntec exhibition centre made an excellent venue to convene on flood risk. The city state is accustomed to the effects of flooding and is finding innovative ways of ensuring its sustainability and risk resilience. An example of this is the Marine Barrage which protects the city’s water resources and prevents tidal flooding. For flood risk professionals visiting Singapore it is well worth a visit alongside the many great attractions the city has to offer.

About the Author

Paul Drury is the GIS Data Manager at Ambiental. His role includes project management of production operations and reporting back to stakeholders. He also oversees the preparation, integration and quality assurance checking of data assets. Paul is an expert in GIS and data analysis with a developed understanding of the environmental data industry and underlying technical concepts. He has a BSc (hons) in Environmental Sciences from the University of Brighton.