Improving Flood Forecasting in Japan

摘要

Anew flood forecasting system in Japan could help improve information for residents, increasing evacuations and ultimately saving lives. In Japan, thousands of homes and businesses and hundreds of lives have been lost to typhoons. In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis swept across parts of Japan, causing severe flooding, 86 deaths, and some $400 billion in damage. Most urban areas in Japan lie within a floodplain, and typhoons can result in rapid and dangerous flooding. Early warning systems can help people to prepare for flooding, but the existing systems, which are based on gauged upstream water levels, sometimes do not provide enough advance warning."Current warning systems can provide accurate flooding predictions, but with only a few hours' notice," said lead author of the study Wenchao Ma of the University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science. "Because people need more time to respond effectively to flood warnings, we investigated whether a newly developed flood forecasting system could accurately predict flooding locations with a longer lead time."