Google Can Now Use AI In Predicting Flood Events In India

Ayaan Bhardvaj


Google can now use AI in predicting possible flood events in India.

Google is currently using flood warning AI to detect and forecast flood in India that can help Indian people have the best preparation for it. Last month, the first alert of Google was issued in the state of Bihar in India where the company has a partnership with India's Central Water Commission. They are going to expand it in all regions in India

Google uses Google Public Alert – a system designed to notify its users about an emergency situation like floods . It can also be able to show user the best way to stay safe when natural disasters happen. Google Public Alert is also integrated into Google Now, Google Maps as well as Google Search.

Floods are very common in India. Floods often happen in monsoon season from June to September. India also is a country who has faced most dangerous floods in history. According to the company, there are 250 millions of people each year who are affected by the flood and 20 percent of those people is in India. If this AI works effectively, many people will be safe from floods.

To prevent that from happening again, Google has aggregated data from India historical flood events and the information about a specific area's elevation, river level readings, and the terrain to train its AI. Through that model, it will create a map as well as run many simulations so that it can create a forecasting model which can have accurate predictions of the severity, location and also timing of a possible flood event.

Google started issuing its SOS alerts in Google Maps and Google Search in the previous year to provide users with information like websites and phone numbers during crises. Meanwhile, Facebook provides its users an option called "Mark as Safe" for natural disasters. Hopefully, with the advancement of many tools like these, people would be able to stay safe through these natural disasters.