FloodAI

Opening rural communities to a new flood warning system.

We are working collaboratively to provide an enhanced flood warning system using artificial intelligence (AI) and new sensor technology. This innovative method will provide a cost effective and more accurate solution for these areas that often lack investment and funding for flood warning systems.





We are working with six communities in Northumberland: Haltwhistle, Acomb, Riding Mill, Stocksfield, Ovingham and Hepscott. We aim to increase resilience by creating a new type of flood warning. This warning will enable communities to evolve their decision making in operational flood response, reducing impacts, and the project will serve as a prototype for wider national implementation for communities with similar flood risk behaviour.

It focuses on solutions for rural and mid catchment communities who are disproportionately challenged in managing flood risk. We will use new technology to monitor existing assets such as Natural Flood Management assets and adapt them to maximise their performance. This will reduce the need for further interventions, provide evidence for more cost-effective solutions and reduce the carbon footprint associated with them.

This project will not only provide greater resilience to flooding in communities but will build wider resilience including personal resilience through improved health and wellbeing and reduced anxiety.


Resilience is about ….

“good honest communication with at risk areas”

“knowing when and where flooding is likely, enabling a quick and appropriate response to mitigate the worst effects when flooding happens”

– Northumberland flood wardens


Current activities:

We’re currently in our ‘Discovery’ phase, which aims to define the problem and our solution in more detail before we start to build the service. We’ve broken this phase down into three strands each lead by a different partner:

  • Northumbria University are leading the technology discovery, which researches AI techniques appropriate for the catchments to identify feasible options for the service.

  • Isle Utilities are leading the operational discovery, which drafts both the pilot and national rollout operation structures and funding mechanisms.

  • Arup are leading the user research, which investigates community needs, challenges and opportunities to define the problem statement.

After this we’ll bring all three elements together to create the service design, demonstrating the relationship between different components such as people, technology and processes. Additionally we’ll need an implementation plan to secure our funding for further development and delivery phases, where we’ll build, test and deploy the service.


How to get involved

If you would like to find out more about our project, please email us at ngfr@northumberland.gov.uk


How our project is testing innovation

The prototype we create for this project could be rolled out nationally to build resilience in other rural isolated communities.

As part of the FCRIP we are testing 4 resilience actions:

  • Nature based solutions
  • Integrated water management solutions
  • Community and voluntary sector action to be better prepared and recover more quickly
  • Enhanced flood warning systems

Visit the programme evaluation page to find out more.


Opening rural communities to a new flood warning system.

We are working collaboratively to provide an enhanced flood warning system using artificial intelligence (AI) and new sensor technology. This innovative method will provide a cost effective and more accurate solution for these areas that often lack investment and funding for flood warning systems.





We are working with six communities in Northumberland: Haltwhistle, Acomb, Riding Mill, Stocksfield, Ovingham and Hepscott. We aim to increase resilience by creating a new type of flood warning. This warning will enable communities to evolve their decision making in operational flood response, reducing impacts, and the project will serve as a prototype for wider national implementation for communities with similar flood risk behaviour.

It focuses on solutions for rural and mid catchment communities who are disproportionately challenged in managing flood risk. We will use new technology to monitor existing assets such as Natural Flood Management assets and adapt them to maximise their performance. This will reduce the need for further interventions, provide evidence for more cost-effective solutions and reduce the carbon footprint associated with them.

This project will not only provide greater resilience to flooding in communities but will build wider resilience including personal resilience through improved health and wellbeing and reduced anxiety.


Resilience is about ….

“good honest communication with at risk areas”

“knowing when and where flooding is likely, enabling a quick and appropriate response to mitigate the worst effects when flooding happens”

– Northumberland flood wardens


Current activities:

We’re currently in our ‘Discovery’ phase, which aims to define the problem and our solution in more detail before we start to build the service. We’ve broken this phase down into three strands each lead by a different partner:

  • Northumbria University are leading the technology discovery, which researches AI techniques appropriate for the catchments to identify feasible options for the service.

  • Isle Utilities are leading the operational discovery, which drafts both the pilot and national rollout operation structures and funding mechanisms.

  • Arup are leading the user research, which investigates community needs, challenges and opportunities to define the problem statement.

After this we’ll bring all three elements together to create the service design, demonstrating the relationship between different components such as people, technology and processes. Additionally we’ll need an implementation plan to secure our funding for further development and delivery phases, where we’ll build, test and deploy the service.


How to get involved

If you would like to find out more about our project, please email us at ngfr@northumberland.gov.uk


How our project is testing innovation

The prototype we create for this project could be rolled out nationally to build resilience in other rural isolated communities.

As part of the FCRIP we are testing 4 resilience actions:

  • Nature based solutions
  • Integrated water management solutions
  • Community and voluntary sector action to be better prepared and recover more quickly
  • Enhanced flood warning systems

Visit the programme evaluation page to find out more.


  • NGFR Community Event!

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    We are coming to Riding Mill on the 27th of November to learn more about river flooding in your area!

    Would love to see you at Stocksfield Cricket Club from 3:30pm for drop-in sessions and from 6pm for the workshop - Food will be served by Two J's Wood Fired Pizza!

    See more details in the poster and below. And if you want to join the workshop, sign up at https://foresight-surveys.typeform.com/NGFR27Nov

    • Drop-in sessions - 3:30 to 5pm; 6:30 to 7:30pm
    • Workshop: 6 to 7:30pm

    Address:

    Stocksfield Cricket Club

    Main Road

    NE44 7NN


Page last updated: 10 Apr 2024, 05:31 PM