The Urban Flooding Open Knowledge Network: From Real-Time Flood Forecasts to Cascading Failures Through Infrastructure, Ecosystems, Communities and Economy

Floods impact a series of interconnected urban systems (referred to as the Urban Multiplex) that include the power grid and transportation networks, surface water and groundwater, sewerage and drinking water systems, inland navigation and dams – all intertwined with the natural environment and socioeconomic and public health sectors. While the Urban Multiplex is physically and functionally connected, the data produced within its individual sectors are not. This is the core reason why we still do not fully understand the total impact of floods on cities.

The Urban Flooding Open Knowledge Network (UFOKN) is an information infrastructure that (i) integrates Urban Multiplex data, (ii) produces real-time and long-term flood forecasts across the continental U.S., and (iii) serves as the foundation to evaluate the total impact of floods on cities. The latter includes assessment of cascading economic impacts of floods across multiple sectors, as well as cascading failures across infrastructure, ecosystems, and communities.

UFOKN aims to provide actionable answers to questions such as:

• Real-time flood mitigation and response: Will my house or place of business flood? Will I have access to water and power? Which district to evacuate first? When? Which traffic routes are safe? Will this storm disrupt the power grid, drinking water treatment plant, or a bridge?

• Long-term design, planning and research: Which critical urban infrastructure will likely fail in a future flood? Which failures will affect the most people or the most vulnerable people? Which areas will experience repeated flooding? Which houses should the city buy out? Should a hospital be built at location X? What are the common triggers of Urban Multiplex failures?

The interdisciplinary team behind this project has brought together academic researchers, industry, federal government, U.S. National labs and local stakeholders. UFOKN is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator Program that is structured to enable rapid advancement in highly complex problems of critical societal importance.