Watch Duty expands disaster alerts to include flood warnings

Watch Duty, a popular disaster-awareness service, is introducing flood alerts to its app, expanding its capabilities beyond wildfires. This new feature is available as a free update, allowing users to receive push notifications with information about flood zones and water levels if they are near a flood zone and have allowed the app to track their location. The nonprofit organization started in 2021 with a focus on California's wildfires and has since expanded to the entire US.

Watch Duty uses a combination of paid employee 'reporters' and volunteers who monitor emergency responder radio channels to translate information about disaster zones to app users. During the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles last year, Watch Duty became a critical resource, providing real-time information about the fire's movements that users relied on. Since then, the app has gained thousands of new users and partnerships, including one with Amazon's Ring cameras that allows people to share their Ring videos in Watch Duty if a fire is nearby.

Monitoring flooding requires a different approach than tracking wildfires. Floods tend to be more straightforward to monitor because water moves in more predictable ways. According to John Mills, Watch Duty's CEO, 'The difference with floods is we do have more warning...

So frankly, it's a little bit easier in some regards.' However, flood information comes from various agencies in the US, such as FEMA, the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey, which can be overwhelming for people to reconcile. Mills wants Watch Duty to distill this information into a more straightforward outlook, allowing users to make informed decisions. Watch Duty will present flood information simply, focusing on where the floodplain is and what the water levels are at.

Users can find the nearest buoy and set a push notification alert for when it hits a high enough level that flooding could become a threat. Watch Duty has reported some floods before, but getting floods fully integrated into the service has taken time. Mills says having more disasters in Watch Duty was always the plan, but ensuring the feature works has been a challenge—especially during busy fire seasons.

Why this matters: The addition of flood alerts to Watch Duty's app has significant implications for disaster awareness and response. By providing users with real-time information on flood zones and water levels, Watch Duty is empowering individuals to take proactive measures to protect themselves and their communities. This expansion also highlights the growing importance of disaster-awareness services, which can help bridge the gap between emergency responders and the public.

As Watch Duty continues to integrate more disaster types into its app, it raises questions about the role of AI and technology in disaster response and the potential for similar services to emerge in the future. For developers and businesses, this development underscores the need for innovative solutions that can effectively communicate critical information to those in harm's way. Ultimately, Watch Duty's flood alerts have the potential to save lives and property, making it a valuable resource for communities nationwide.