Floods impact a series of interconnected urban systems that include the power grid and transportation networks, surface water and groundwater, sewerage and drinking water systems, inland navigation and dams, and other systems, all of which are intertwined with the socioeconomic and public health sectors. This project uses a convergent approach to integrate these multiple interconnected systems and merges state-of-the-art practices in hydrologic and hydraulic engineering; systems analysis, optimization and control; machine learning, data and computer science; epidemiology; socioeconomics; and transportation and electrical engineering to develop an Urban Flood Open Knowledge Network (UF-OKN).
The project team has developed a semantically rich, linked network of Urban Multiplex information that behaves as a single convergent system and connects Urban Multiplex components temporally, spatially, and relationally. The UF-OKN will empower decision makers and the general public by providing information not just on how much flooding may occur from a future event, but also the cascading impact of a flood event on a natural and engineered infrastructure of an urban area.
In mid 2020, the team applied for and was awarded Phase II funding which will support operationalization of the UFOKN, which was developed in Phase I.