For a city notorious for inundation in a single spell of strong showers, an app to map the flood-prone areas and undertake targeted mitigation measures with technological aid cannot have come a day earlier.
The Flood Free Kochi App, which was launched by Mayor Soumini Jain, does precisely that. The app has been jointly developed by the Kochi Corporation in association with German International Co-operation Agency (GIZ). It is part of a global program “ICT-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Cities” (ICT-A) being implemented by GIZ.
The app is designed to collect data from multiple locations in the city limits experiencing waterlogging and runs on both Android and iOS platforms. It can be a technological tool for both residents and visitors to the city to report waterlogging to the authorities. It envisages both the general public and officials as volunteers for efficient intervention.
The app will accurately drainages, and man-made or natural obstructions to the flow of water, enabling timely maintenance ahead of rainfall to prevent urban flooding.
Additional services will be bundled into the app in due course. The crowd reporting application empowers any citizen to report flood-affected areas and volunteers assisted by Global Positioning System can intervene to address the problem. The Geographic Information System also offers an insight into the affected area’s uniqueness, population, and topography.
