Although when we talk about Google we always focus on its products and services and especially on the most popular ones, it is true that technology more social activities, for which it uses its technological potential on many occasions. And they are quite remarkable initiatives because they can significantly change the lives of people who can use them in one way or another.

In general, when we talk about actions of this type, we usually mean actions aimed exclusively at the disadvantaged. It is understandable, because they are the ones who need help the most, and that is why many initiatives focus on it, whether they are part of companies’ CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs or independently of this type of policy. WITHHowever, this is not always the case and this is one of those cases..

If you’re not familiar, Flood Hub is a Google service that pulls from various public data sources, such as weather information and satellite imagery, and uses artificial intelligence to process it. This process is supported by two artificial intelligence models, a hydrological one that predicts the volume of water carried by rivers, and a flood model that calculates which areas may be affected and how high the waters may rise. Thanks to this operation, The Flood Hub is able to identify areas that may be at risk of short-term flooding.

Flood Hub information can be consulted on this website, but Google’s plans include expanding flood forecast alerts to the search engine and Google Maps, so there are several ways that residents of potentially affected areas can be informed in time and have time to take the necessary measures to protect them. And that’s a bigger problem than you might think, because it’s estimated that flooding affects more than 250 million people worldwide every year.

The good news is that, as we can read on the company’s official blog in Spain, Google has expanded the Flood Hub to 80 countries, including Spain. So if we access the service now, we will already see some markers on the map that indicate places where incidents have occurred in the past. Clicking on them will show us information about the current situation, as well as indicators of values ​​from which alarm levels are activated.

I took my first steps as a teenager, in the late 80s, when I suddenly knew what it was like to lose “everything” (material things, that’s why I put it in quotes) in one fell swoop. Hours and hours of torrential rain in a generally dry area (Eastern Almería) caused a tongue of water, branches, mud and more to destroy the contents of our house in a matter of seconds and we barely escaped with our lives really, because we got our feet wet, as we ran up the stairs that separated us from disaster. I think that should clarify my opinion on the value of Flood Hub and whyI’m applauding this initiative by Google until my hands are worn out.