Why it’s so hard to warn people about flash floods
1 min read
Summary
Flash floods in Texas over Independence Day killed more than 100 people, and the state’s hill country, which borders Mexico, has been called “flash flood alley” due to the heightened risk in the area.
However, by definition flash floods are difficult to predict well in advance as they form rapidly, giving weather forecasters at best a few hours to warn residents in the affected areas.
Factors influencing the difficulty of predicting such floods include the US government’s cuts to climate research and the intricacies of forecasting the amount of rainfall which will fall in a certain location.
Getting the warnings out to residents also poses challenges and a recent study by the University of Oxford suggests that it is increasingly important to communicate early warning systems more effectively.