UK automated flood warning system issues late, false alerts
A flood warning system developed by the UK government delivered warnings of floods that failed to materialise, and w arnings that c a me after people 's homes were already flooded. Unlike manual warnings, which are typically o ffered in advance by analysing digital monitoring data alongside weather forecasts , the UK Environment Agency's AI-powered automated system only issues warnings when a river reaches a certain level. The automated alerts have far less detail than those offered by flood forecasters, according to The Guardian , and therefore tend to be much less accurate and reliable. The system was trialed in December 2022 as a stopgap during a period of industrial action by Environment Agency officers, and continued thereafter. System 🤖 UK flood warnings 🔗 Documents 📃 UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2019). Flood warning finds its voice UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2009). Improving flood warnings (pdf) Operator: Environment Agency Developer: Environment Agency Country: UK Sector: Govt - environment Purpose: Assess and predict flood risk Technology: Deep learning; Neural network; Machine learning Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Safety
- Date it happened
- 2023-02-01
- Organisation involved
- Environment Agency
- Product, system or model
- Flood warning
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