Civil engineers tackle flash floods

Paris is under water and the situation seems to be worsening. Today the French government has confirmed the closing of the Louvre in Paris. The staff will move selected works to higher ground in the gallery to ensure that the water causes no damage. The floods were caused by extended rainfall in the area and the weather service has warned that the rain won’t slow down over the weekend. 25,000 people will be left without power. Germany has also been hit hard after constant rainfall had caused up to 5 deaths and left several people missing. Europe is becoming commonplace for floods in recent times making civil engineers wonder what is to be done. Flash flooding is something that engineers are researching so that damage to property and valuables is far less than it is in the world today. 

Flash floods are also occurring in the U.S. in Texas. Analysts are saying that the flooding could continue for weeks to come. The flood has already claimed the lives of five soldiers and another four are missing in what is being considered historic floods for the state. 

An engineer foresees more floods in the future and wants to help with a new app that could benefit the entire world. A professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, D.J. Seo, has coded a new app named iSeeFlood. The app would assist in real-time reporting of flash flooding that could inform motorists and household owners that water could be rising wherever they are. On top of the user generated data, Seo’s team have installed wireless sensors that will model urban water systems with Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere which will also alert the engineers if water levels rise to the point of flash flooding. 

“We will integrate the information that people send us using the app and the data from the sensors and the CASA system with flash flood forecasting models…Urbanization means we have changing land surface conditions such as increasing impervious land cover, which changes how rain may be running off and accumulating,” said Seo. 

The CASA systems are a relatively new technology but will be invaluable to severe weather warnings that could lead to flash floods. The technology works by scanning areas prone to heavy storm systems so that predictions can be made on how severe the storms are going to be due to atmospheric pressure. 

Researchers hope the technology will be proven successful so that countries all around the world can warn their citizens that severe storms might cause flash floods. The technology could prevent deaths and save valuable property due to fair warning that storms are on their way.