Ask a Scientist: How can researchers use AI to predict a flood?

{ "reading_time": "[[read\u002Dtime]] min read" } Breadcrumb Home Innovation & AI Technology Research Ask a Scientist: How can researchers use AI to predict a flood? Aug 18, 2026 | x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link A Google senior staff research scientist shares how we’ve used AI to evolve our flood forecasts over the last decade. Hannah Hunt Contributor Share x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link { "@context": "https://schema.org/", "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Ask A Scientist | How can researchers use AI to predict a flood?", "description": "On the left: A blue background with black text saying 'Google' and 'Ask a scientist about flood forecasting.' On the right: Two Googlers in a virtual interview about flood forecasting", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/LuRpA8M727c/maxresdefault.webp", "uploadDate": "2026-08-18T16:00:00+00:00", "contentUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuRpA8M727c", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/LuRpA8M727c" } Your browser does not support the audio element. Listen to article [[duration]] minutes This content is generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental Voice Speed Voice Speed 0.75X 1X 1.5X 2X Read AI-generated summary Google uses artificial intelligence to predict river and urban flash floods, providing early warnings to over 2 billion people in 150 countries. The new Groundsource methodology fills critical data gaps by analyzing historical news reports to forecast floods even in areas lacking local sensors. You can access these predictions through the Flood Hub tool or use the open-source data and API to support your own disaster resilience research. Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. "Ask a Scientist" explains how Google uses AI to predict dangerous floods worldwide. AI models analyze global weather and river data to forecast floods days in advance. The new Groundsource tool uses AI to track urban flash floods without historical dat...