Google believes the world can do more to prevent loss of life during floods, especially now that artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining global attention.
The company wants to take the lead on this front, and on May 22, its Flood Hub platform, which uses AI to analyze precipitation and issue weather alerts, will cover 80 countries worldwide, up from the previous 20. announced that it has become 23 of them are African countries. .
Google said it has introduced machine-learning algorithms into its Flood Hub platform, allowing it to provide seven-day weather forecasts. This will protect 460 million people worldwide.
“The use of AI in flood forecasting has significant implications for the world by reducing flood risk in communities that need it most, protecting lives and property, and facilitating timely response by aid agencies during floods. It has potential,” the president of Engineering, Research and Crisis Response told Quartz.
Google said it is expanding flood warnings through Search and Maps mobile notifications, providing communities with important and timely flood information and giving them time to take preventative measures.
“Leveraging AI allows us to achieve high accuracy. Our models are improving dramatically as we train on more data, exposing more countries to more risks.” We are actively working to enable better quality data to cover the region,” Matthias said.
This will help prioritize recovery efforts and ensure adequate assistance to victims in areas lacking basic infrastructure such as roads and internet connectivity, he said.
A 2022 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that the cost of flooding in the United States alone could rise from $32 billion (2022) to $43 billion 2050.The annual economic loss due to flooding is $30 billion Asia and $8.2 billion in Europe.Africa has been lost in the last 30 years $14 billion to the flood.
