Watch Duty Expands to Include Flood Alerts in Disaster Awareness App
Watch Duty, the The wildfire alert app is introducing flood alerts to its popular disaster awareness service. This is the second type of disaster to be widely included, after wildfires; it is available as a free update. If you have the app, allow it to track your location, and you’re near a flood zone, Watch Duty will send you a push notification with more information about the flood.
From Wildfire to Flood: A Strategic Expansion
The nonprofit started in 2021 focusing on California wildfires. The app has since expanded across the United States, where it uses a combination of paid “reporters” and many other volunteers who monitor emergency responders’ radio channels and translate that information about disaster areas to the app’s users.
Watch Duty became a critical resource during the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles last year, providing real-time information about the fire’s movements that users relied on. In the year since, Watch Duty has capitalized on that increased recognition and attracted thousands of new users and partnerships, including one with Amazon’s Ring cameras that let people share their Ring videos in Watch Duty if a fire is nearby.
Understanding the Dynamics of Flood Monitoring
Monitoring floods takes a different approach than monitoring wildfires. Floods tend to be easier to monitor because the water moves more predictably. Unless a dam breaks or other unexpected event, flood paths are easier to follow.
“The difference with flooding is we have more warning,” says John Mills, CEO of Watch Duty. “So frankly, it’s a little easier in some ways.”
Easier to track and report doesn’t mean floods are any less complicated than fires. Flood information comes from various U.S. agencies, such as FEMA, the National Weather Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The problem, Mills said, is that there is so much information from so many different sources that people have a hard time reconciling it all and getting a clear idea of what constitutes an immediate concern in their neighborhood. What he wants to do with Watch Duty is distill that information into a simpler perspective.
Courtesy of Monitoring Service
Providing Timely and Actionable Information
“They tell you to do something, but it’s too late,” Mills says. “It’s too little, it doesn’t work. With Watch Duty, you can start to bring together a bunch of information on one screen to make an informed decision.”
Watch Duty will not be able to communicate finer details, such as when each tree falls through the flood zone. Mills says flooding in Watch Duty will be presented more simply, with a focus on the location of the floodplain and water levels. Flood forecasts depend on buoys that detect water height. Watch Duty now allows users to find the nearest buoy and set a push notification alert when it reaches a high enough level that flooding could become a threat.
Watch Duty has reported flooding before, but those were one-off events. It took some time for flooding to be fully integrated into the service. Mills says having more disasters in Watch Duty was always the plan, but ensuring the feature worked has been a challenge, especially during busy fire seasons.
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