FloodNavigator: Urban Flooding Watch

Overview

FloodNavigator is a mobile app that provides real-time, crowdsourced updates on road passability during heavy rains. While real-time, digital flood monitoring systems already exist, our idea works like Google Maps, but instead of showing traffic, it will show flooded roads, neighborhoods, and waterways. Imagine opening the app and seeing an interactive map with areas color-coded based on flood severity—red for severe flooding to avoid, yellow for moderate flooding, and green for clear, safe routes. This will allow users to make real-time decisions about where it's safe to travel and help them avoid dangerous areas. Users will receive push notifications asking them to report road conditions, similar to feedback requests on Google Maps, which will create a live, up-to-date picture of road passability. The app will also display flood-prone hotspots as “likely flooded”, using existing geospatial and hydrology models to provide baseline data. FloodNavigator will empower users to make informed travel decisions, benefiting commuters, drivers for public transportation and ride-hailing services, and emergency responders. 

Motivation

Urban flooding is a critical issue in cities across emerging economies, where rapid urbanization, insufficient infrastructure, and the growing impacts of climate change have made flooding both frequent and devastating. Cities such as Accra, Ghana, exemplify this challenge. Floods disrupt daily life, endanger citizens, and cause significant economic losses. The core problem is the lack of a real-time, reliable system for civilians and businesses to track and respond to urban flooding in these regions.

Currently, in cities like Accra, people rely primarily on word-of-mouth or direct observation to learn about flooded areas. This inefficient system delays critical decisions that could protect lives, homes, and businesses. Without accurate, up-to-date information on which streets or neighborhoods are impassable due to flooding, people are left to navigate blindly, leading to:

• Dangerous Travel Conditions
  • Residents and commuters often encounter impassable roads and flooded streets during heavy rains, which pose serious risks to safety and cause significant delays. Accidents and injuries are common as people attempt to travel through unsafe areas without reliable information.
• Inadequate Preparation
  • Residents in flood-prone areas often receive no timely warnings, leaving them little time to prepare their homes and belongings. Without reliable alerts, they are forced to act reactively, leading to increased property damage and loss of personal possessions.
• Business Disruptions
  • For businesses, the inability to predict which areas will flood or remain safe hampers logistics, disrupts supply chains, and puts employees at risk. The lack of accurate flood data results in economic losses that could be mitigated with better information. Mobility-constraints due to climatic conditions have a number of consequences, including reducing access to work places, markets and services.