Deltares and FloodTags have further intensified collaboration, enhancing the use of online media data in model validation, real-time monitoring and two-way communication via direct messaging.

During flood events, effective crisis response can be hampered by lack of situational awareness regarding the actual conditions on the ground. Have any areas been flooded, and which? What is the flood depth? What is the impact on the population? Traditional monitoring networks hardly measure this, flood forecasting models often misrepresent this and crowdsourcing this information from volunteers is difficult and laborious. Better use of online media in the early warning and crisis response process can make a difference. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook contain a wealth of information regarding the on the ground conditions during flood events, and platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram allow for easy two-way communication and crowdsourcing from volunteer networks.

To tap into this, FloodTags offers services to analyze online media and user generated content for flooding information. Deltares, among others, develops forecasting systems and models, and possesses extensive domain knowledge on flood forecasting and flood risk management. Together, we have already been carrying our research and pilot projects in this field. And now we will further intensify our collaboration by means of a Collaboration Agreement, signed during the Delft-FEWS User Days. As a result, our Clients can get easy access to FloodTags and use media data for model validation, real-time monitoring and two-way communication via direct messaging. For instance, FloodTags data is now available in Delft-FEWS, in real-time! Reach out to us if you want to explore the exiting new possibilities this offers.