The University of South Florida has received a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant which will allow researchers at the university to develop an application to identify flood risks.
The app will combine volunteered geographic information and community crowdsourced data such as photos, and videos, with near real-time data on flooding. Using dynamic modeling and mapping tools, including artificial intelligence, the app will identify and extract estimated water elevation for near real-time flood models that can inform emergency managers and policymakers, according to a statement.
Led by USF St. Petersburg geographic information system and remote sensing professor Barnali Dixon, the research team will create the CRIS-HAZARD app, as its being named.
The new app, which will provide an interactive user experience, is based off the existing Community Resiliency Information System, a web-based platform, created in 2020 by iCAR.
The CRIS-HAZARD app will be developed by researchers from USF and Georgia Tech using community and emergency management input, over the next three years, and then can be used by both local neighborhoods and communities nationwide.