Floods

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain An artificial intelligence (AI) model could improve the accuracy of flood forecasting, according to a new study published in Nature. The system is shown to be as accurate as, or an improvement on, current leading methods and could provide earlier warnings of large flooding events. Human-caused climate change has increased the frequency of flooding in some…

With the recent boom in artificial intelligence (AI), concerns have arisen about this technology's ability and potential to do good as well as bad. While fear is being expressed at the highest levels about the high potential of the risk involved in this technology, there is no stopping this particular Juggernaut! And, looking to leverage AI for the good of humankind is Google as is evidenced by its recent collaboration with Apollo Hospitals in India to support early disease detection. And now, researchers are tackling…

Google just announced that it has been riverline floods, up to seven days in advance in some cases. This isn’t just tech company hyperbole, as the findings were actually published Nature. Floods are the most common natural disaster throughout the world, so any early warning system is good news.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET04pDj-RvMFloods have been notoriously tricky to predict, as most rivers don’t have streamflow gauges. Google got around this problem by with all kinds of relevant data, including historical…

Tornadoes, Floods and Hurricanes Loom, but the Government Is Running Out of Money to HelpThe Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster response fund could run out this summer. It dealt with a similar situation last year, which led to a slowdown in rebuilding projectsBy Thomas Frank & E&E NewsA destroyed house is seen in Keaton Beach, Florida on August 30, 2023 after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. Idalia slammed into northwest Florida as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm early Wednesday, buffeting…

The Pearl River basin has experienced significant flooding events linked to climatic changes, with notable impacts on local ecology, agriculture, and society. A new study highlights the importance of understanding historical flood patterns to predict future events and their potential effects on human civilization.River flooding is among the most catastrophic disasters worldwide. The Pearl River, the longest watercourse in southern China, particularly its lower reach with dense population and economic activity, has been…

Anne Heggli inside a snowpit at the Central Sierra Snow Lab on Donner Pass. Credit: Anne Heggli/DRI At the dawn of the new year in 1997, the Truckee River transformed. The winter season had thus far been great for snow, but when a subtropical storm from near the Hawaiian Islands rolled in, it carried with it unseasonably warm rain. The warm rainfall combined with snowmelt to swell the rivers, with the Truckee burying much of…

Hurricane Patricia in 2015 was the most intense storm ever recorded in the Americas. But do we need a new scale? Credit: Scott Kelly/NASA/EPA When a tropical cyclone forms, people who live in its path anxiously monitor news of its direction—and strength. If a Category 5 storm with wind speeds of 250 kilometers per hour is heading for you, you prepare differently than you would for a Category 1 with wind speeds of 65 km/h.…

Israel’s military has begun injecting “high-flow” seawater into Hamas-built tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip as part of its attempt to “neutralize terrorist infrastructures.”On 30 January, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that the plan to flood tunnels under the Gaza Strip, a strategy that has been the subject of rumours since December, is being implemented at a number of undisclosed locations. The IDF’s statement added that the move was a “significant engineering and technological breakthrough” and that locations…

The study sites locate at the riparian hill land terrace near the river channel. Credit: Science China Press River flooding is among the most catastrophic disasters worldwide. The Pearl River, the longest watercourse in southern China, particularly its lower reach with dense population and economic activity, has been identified as one of the world's most vulnerable regions to flood exposure. …

Heavy rainfall early Monday clogged the morning commute in Los Angeles County, with some localized and urban flooding, but the rainstorm is threatening to wreak more havoc across the region. Much of San Diego County is under a flash flood warning through 1 p.m. as pockets of punishing rains and thunderstorms are moving west and south. “We’re seeing a couple different smaller thunderstorm cells that are producing really strong rainfall rates,” said Brian Adams, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego.…