National Real-Time Flood Forecasting, England
- Alastair Sheppard
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 14
What our customers say:
“The Flood Incident Mapper platform is a valuable addition to our national flood risk management capabilities. We use the tool to better understand the areas and properties most likely to flood in real time, which can speed up and better target our response to flood events.”
Tim Harrison, Senior Advisor, Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (England) needed a reliable solution to accurately forecast flood extents in real-time across England. Using Flood Modeller, Jacobs developed the innovative Flood Incident Mapper platform, enhancing response planning and minimising unnecessary flood alerts.
The responsibility of overseeing flood risk management throughout England rests with the Environment Agency. This entails taking a leading role in the upkeep of flood management infrastructure, including defences, providing the public with guidance on flood risk, and promptly responding to flood incidents.
Recent flood events across England have revealed situations where existing tools are insufficient and cannot deliver the necessary flood information quickly enough. The analysis process can take several days, by which time the flood event has already passed.
In practice, the existing flood warning system needed enhancement to provide the desired level of detail and flexibility. Flood warnings are issued to predefined areas based on river forecasts. These areas remain fixed regardless of the actual flood event, which can result in many properties receiving unnecessary alerts. The fixed nature of the alerted area made it challenging to accurately represent the flood extent and scale the response appropriately, affecting effective resource allocation and response planning.
Another significant challenge when it comes to managing flood incidents is the assessment of the impact of flooding, especially when considering the unpredictable and dynamic nature of asset failure or overtopping (walls, pumps, gates, etc.).
To make informed decisions that directly affect the risk to life and property, it is essential to have instant access to robust and high-quality real-time forecast data. Additionally, equipping operational teams with the ability to assess “what-if” scenarios before they occur enables responders to be well-prepared and plan effectively for potential events.
To address these needs, Jacobs harnessed the power of GPU technology to run Flood Modeller 2D and utilised the automations provided by Flood Platform to develop the Flood Incident Mapper platform.
Flood Modeller was selected over alternative products due to its industry-leading speed and the robustness of the 2D GPU-enabled solver. Additionally, as the GPU solver is included with Flood Modeller as standard (with Professional and Unlimited editions) there were no additional licensing costs.
Key Facts
Real-time 2D flood forecasting: Results in minutes for timely, accurate information.
Powered by Azure and GPU technology: Enhanced performance with GPU solvers.
Enhanced resolution and confidence: Greater detail and reliability in flood forecasts.
Improved accuracy and scalability: Precision and adaptability in flood warnings.
Reduced false alarms: Minimises unnecessary alerts, boosting public trust.
Effective resource allocation: Optimises response planning and resource management.
Flood Incident Mapper
Flood Incident Mapper is an innovative, web-based (Azure), on-demand 2D hydraulic modelling platform that provides instant access to and the creation of fast-running hydraulic models to forecast flood extents during complex events (such as defence failure or reservoir release).
These models are pre-prepared and populated with standard datasets, and are seamlessly integrated with the Environment Agency’s national Incident Management Forecasting System, which provides real-time and forecast river level data across England.
Data from the Incident Management Forecast System can be directly applied as boundaries to models within the Flood Incident Mapper platform by simply selecting the nearest forecast point. This ensures consistency with the national system and streamlines the overall modelling process. Additionally, user-defined boundaries can be applied where needed.
The Flood Modeller 2D GPU-enabled solver allows models to be run in minutes, providing near-instant results to support operational decisions. This cutting-edge technology empowers responders with the tools they need to make timely and informed decisions, ultimately enhancing flood management and safeguarding communities.
