Flood monitoring and management system

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer programs are presented for a flood-recovery analysis tool. One method includes operations for accessing weather information for a geographical region divided into cells and for generating runoff data based on the weather information. The runoff data includes a predicted amount of free-running water on a surface of each cell of the region. Further, the method includes operations for generating a prediction of inflow and outflow of water between cells, and for calculating, for a plurality of sub-cells of each cell in the geographical region, a predicted water depth in each sub-cell based on the prediction of the inflow and outflow between cells and a hydraulic model. Additionally, the method includes operations for generating a flood inundation map showing the predicted water depth at each sub-cell in the geographical region, and for causing presentation of the flood inundation map in a user interface of a display device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 tracking asset information for assets in a geographical region, the asset information comprising type of building and building location;   estimating a water depth for the geographical region;   estimating damages for the assets in the geographical region due to flooding based on the asset information and the estimated water depth for each asset;   calculating a number of assets that are impacted by flooding based on the estimated damages; and   causing presentation of a user interface with a map of the geographical region showing the water depth, the estimated damages, and the number of assets impacted.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 tracking people per block in the geographical region; and   estimating a number of people affected by the flooding in the geographical region based on the estimated water depth in the geographical region.   
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 causing presentation on the user interface of the estimated number of people affected by the flooding.   
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein estimating the water depth comprises:
 predicting the water depth caused by flooding for a plurality of times;   providing, in the user interface, a timeline bar for selecting a time from the plurality of times; and   causing presentation on the user interface of the predicted water depth for a selected time from the plurality of times.   
     
     
         5 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the user interface includes options for presenting rainfall level and for presenting arrows representing water flow velocity. 
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the asset information further comprises building material and year of construction. 
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein tracking asset information comprises tracking asset by block in the geographical region, wherein calculating the number of assets that are impacted by flooding comprises determining the number of assets impacted by block, wherein the user interface includes the number of assets impacted by flooding for each block. 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 assigning a flood risk indicator to each cell in the geographical region based on a probability that the cell will be inundated, the flood risk indicator for each cell being selected from a plurality of predefined risk indicators; and   causing presentation of the flood risk indicators in the map of the geographical region, each of the plurality of predefined risk indicators being color-coded with a different color in the map.   
     
     
         9 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 causing presentation of waterways in the map with a first color; and   causing presentation of flooded areas next to the waterways in a second color.   
     
     
         10 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing an option in the user interface to configure mitigation measures; and   recalculating the estimated damages for the assets in the geographical region based on the configured mitigation measures.   
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 tracking asset information for assets in a geographical region, the asset information comprising type of building and building location;   estimating at least one gauge value for at least one gauge in the geographical region;   estimating damage risk for the assets in the geographical region due to flooding based on the at least one gauge value for the at least one gauge;   calculating a number of assets impacted by flooding based on the estimated damage risk; and   causing presentation of a user interface with a map of the geographical region showing the estimated damage risk and the number of assets impacted.   
     
     
         12 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the at least one gauge value comprises a water level at the gauge. 
     
     
         13 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the at least one gauge value comprises a stream flow at the gauge. 
     
     
         14 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the at least one gauge value comprises a water level at the gauge and a stream flow at the gauge. 
     
     
         15 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , further comprising:
 tracking people per block in the geographical region; and   estimating a number of people affected by the flooding in the geographical region based on the estimated damage risk in the geographical region.   
     
     
         16 . A system comprising:
 a memory comprising instructions; and   one or more computer processors, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 tracking asset information for assets in a geographical region, the asset information comprising type of building and building location; 
 estimating a water depth for the geographical region; 
 estimating damages for the assets in the geographical region due to flooding based on the asset information and the estimated water depth for each asset; 
 calculating a number of assets that are impacted by flooding based on the estimated damages; and 
 causing presentation of a user interface with a map of the geographical region showing the water depth, the estimated damages, and the number of assets impacted. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:
 tracking people per block in the geographical region; and   estimating a number of people affected by the flooding in the geographical region based on the estimated water depth in the geographical region.   
     
     
         18 . The system as recited in  claim 17 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:
 causing presentation on the user interface of the estimated number of people affected by the flooding.   
     
     
         19 . The system as recited in  claim 16 , wherein estimating the water depth comprises:
 predicting the water depth caused by flooding for a plurality of times;   providing, in the user interface, a timeline bar for selecting a time from the plurality of times; and   causing presentation on the user interface of the predicted water depth for a selected time from the plurality of times.   
     
     
         20 . The system as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the user interface includes options for presenting rainfall level and for presenting arrows representing water flow velocity.