Real-time flood prediction system announced in Japan

TOKYO: On Monday the development of a real-time flood prediction system for Tokyo’s urban areas was announced, soon to be available online on a trial basis.

The system, capable of estimating levels of inundation as a result of intense rainfall in Tokyo’s 23 wards, was developed by researchers from Waseda University, the University of Tokyo and others.



The researchers designed a program to predict water flow in urban areas whilst simultaneously accounting for the densities of buildings, rivers and sewers. The system is also able to analyse inundation damage from intense rainfall and typhoons with access to data from the Japan Meteorological Agency and other agencies.

It then displays predicted levels of inundation as colour-coded on a map, such as the colour red representing 80cm or more, orange representing 40 to 80 cm and green representing 20 to 40 cm. The system can also display forecasts for every five minutes up to 20 minutes.



According to researchers, the new system can analyse the flood situation in great detail by enlisting a variety of ground-based data, unlike the previous method of estimating floods mainly from data on rain clouds. Therefore, authorities will have the ability to take more specific measures and precautions to minimize damage caused by these disasters.

The system is expected to be fully operational before the Tokyo Olympic Games start in July next year.