Piloting a real-time surface water flood risk mapping service within ResilienceDirect to support local emergency decision-making

The primary responsibility for preparing for, and reacting to, major emergency situations in England rests with local emergency responders who act individually or collectively through Local Resilience Forums (LRFs, Defra 2013). ResilienceDirect was set up by Cabinet Office in 2014 to facilitate data sharing amongst LRFs for emergency response and planning. Nationwide fluvial, coastal, and surface water flood risk mapping by the Environment Agency provides information about potential areas at risk. However, emergency services (e.g. Fire & Rescue; Ambulance) face the challenge of responding to flood emergencies under fast changing and dynamic weather conditions.

Surface water flood risk maps based on return period are useful for planning purposes. However their utility in flood emergencies is often limited due to the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of rainfall. This project aims to translate the recent development in high-resolution surface water flood modelling and numerical weather forecast into a real-time street-level surface water flood mapping service within the ResilienceDirect platform. In addition to surface water mapping, this project will also produce accessibility maps in real-time to assist the decision making of emergency responders. This will allow accessibility (e.g. time to travel) from individual emergency service stations (e.g. Fire & Rescue; Ambulance) to vulnerable places to be evaluated. The mapping results will help contingency planning by emergency responders ahead of potential flood events.

Central support from Cabinet Office, the Department for Communities and Local Governments, Met Office and Environment Agency will ensure the wider impact of this project. The project will be demonstrated in Leicestershire, coordinated by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Resilience Forum and the 16 stakeholders it represents. Atkins will support applicability and link the project with three strands of activities in the company: surface water modelling, transportation modelling and resilience/ emergency mapping. Atkins will also help explore potential commercial applications of the project outcomes. Transport Scotland will support the project with knowledge of potential vulnerable areas (PVA) on the trunk road network in Scotland, aligned with known locations of flooding within their asset management system; Transport Scotland will help identify scope for expanding the service in Scotland beyond emergency responders, for utilisation on a national road infrastructure network, within the operations of Traffic Scotland.

A real-time street-level surface flood mapping service could yield considerable benefits to the emergency responders within the LRFs. Through LLR LRF, this project would engage with at least 16 stakeholder organizations (e.g. Fire & Rescue, Ambulance, Local Authorities, and Police). Through the ResilienceDirect portal, these stakeholders would be able to access the mapping and analysis in real-time, ahead of potential surface water flood events. This would provide information to: (i) assist contingency planning before events strike; and (ii) guide operations during intense rainfall. This pilot project could, ultimately lead to a national real-time forecasting and mapping service for emergency responders, as clearly desired by the project partners (see letters of support).

A real-time surface water flood mapping service could fundamentally change the way emergency managers prepare for and respond to flood events with short-lead time, shifting from reliance on weather forecasts to direct visualization of flood impacts on the ground.

As a pilot translation project, it will generate longer term and wider impacts through the engagement of a broad range of public and private sector partners who have expressed strong interest in the project itself and the prospect of linking the project outcomes with complementary activities being undertaken within their organizations (e.g. Atkins and Transport Scotland).