Google's flood warning system is now active all over India
On Wednesday Google shared an update on its Flood Forecasting Initiative in India. Google said its systems now extend to the whole of India. It further added that now Google systems could help protect more than 200 million people across more than 250,000 square kilometres, which is more than 20 times to the area it covered last year. So far, in flood-hit areas, Google has sent around 30 million notifications to people.
Besides extending its coverage in India, Google has joined hands with the Bangladesh Water Development Board to introduce its alerts systems to Bangladesh. Google said in Bangladesh, and it covers more than 40 million people. In future, Google wants to expand the coverage of its Flood Forecasting Initiative to the whole country.
Google shared that this year it has introduced a new forecasting model. The technology helped Google to double the lead time for its maximum alerts. Google also helped alert governments and gave Indians more time to prepare for the flooding.
Google's flood forecasting system gives more details like flood depth, timing and volume of water rise, and a more precise depth maps of flood-hit areas.
Google's other improvement has made revamp the alerts to help users make the most of the information. Google's flood warning system is now accessible in Hindi, Bengali, and seven other local languages to make the alerts more localised and correct. Users can also easily change language or location to help their friends and families.
"Of course, for all the progress we've made with alert technology, there are still a lot of challenges to overcome. With the flood season still in full swing in India and Bangladesh, COVID-19 has delayed critical infrastructure work, added to the immense pressure on first responders and medical authorities, and disrupted the in-person networks that many people still rely on for advance notice when a flood is on the way," wrote Yossi Matias, VP Engineering & Crisis Response Lead, in a blog post.