Flash floods can strike without warning — this new technology could change that
New satellite and machine learning technology called TACLS is being developed to provide earlier warnings for flash floods. This tool aims to assist the National Weather Service in issuing alerts faster, potentially saving lives as extreme weather events become more frequent.
Why it matters
Improved flood detection is vital for climate adaptation and public safety in an era of increasing extreme weather events.
On the morning of June 9th, Laura Lin was working from her home in Lanesville, a rural southern Indiana town about 15 miles from the Kentucky border. She was on a Zoom call, unaware that the heavy rain outside was beginning to flood her yard.
“I look over to where the barn is over there, and I see pieces of my wood floating, and I was like, ‘What?’ And I immediately was like, ‘I have to go.’ Close my laptop, and I get my kids up, and I’m like, ‘Something’s wrong,’” Lin recalls.
Lin and her family got out safely and sheltered at a neighbor’s house, but Lanesville got over 8 inches of rain within just a few hours that day, way over the threshold for what is considered “heavy” rainfall. The water was gone a few hours later.
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