Rising waters, rising voices: Technology and community in flood emergency management
PCJ in the Bay Fellow Stories: Monique Santoso
I grew up in a flood-prone neighborhood in rural Indonesia, and this summer taught me a great deal about coastal flooding and flood resilience. I worked with OneShoreline, or the San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District, an independent government agency that works across jurisdictional boundaries to secure and leverage public and private resources for the long-term resilience of the county. There, I developed protocols for county-wide early warning systems and designed differentiated resource allocation strategies for different resident populations affected by flooding in San Bruno.
Recently, the National Weather Service identified flash floods as the country’s number one storm-related cause of death, leading to over 125 deaths per year. Similar to other early warning systems, an effective flood early warning system begins with detection. Meteorological radar networks monitor rainfall intensity, while stream gauges, soil moisture sensors, and satellite-based remote sensing track how much water the ground and rivers can hold. These data are analyzed by organizations such as the National Weather Service or regional hydrological agencies, which determine the probability and potential severity of a flash flood and then issue warnings. After sensor detection, the potential impact is modeled using hydrological and hydraulic forecasting methods, which simulate how rainfall translates into river or urban flooding. These models also incorporate socio-economic factors, such as population density and infrastructure vulnerability, to anticipate potential direct and indirect effects.
The most formidable challenges, however, pertain to communication. Alerts need to go out rapidly and clearly using radio, TV, mobile text alerts, weather apps, sirens, and social media. These alerts usually tell people when and where flash flooding is most likely, which areas are at highest risk, and what immediate actions, such as moving to higher ground or relocating vehicles, should be taken. The dangers of weak early warning systems were starkly illustrated in the recent Kerr County floods where, due to the lack of sirens or early monitors, residents received text alerts after the disaster or did not receive them at all.
OneShoreline manages San Mateo County’s flood early warning systems that collect data from gauges during storm events and share data in real-time with emergency responders and the public such that they can make informed decisions and act to protect themselves and their belongings. This summer, the organization is working on extending their current systems in Atherton, Belmont, San Bruno, and Colma Creek to Half Moon Bay.
I spent the summer learning about the best practices of different emergency action plans in the country, synthesizing these from research reports to a summary document and writing up protocols for how OneShoreline could best integrate data from the Department of Emergency Management and their alert system. While the National Weather Service already provides notifications to weather alerts for residents, OneShoreline’s emergency warning system would provide more geographically targeted messages to populations of a specific neighborhood and county. Drawing from best practices, I drafted messages and prototyped infographics that could be shared with emergency managers, technical staff, fire and police departments, and the general public to notify them about various levels of flood monitoring, watch, and warnings and communicate the protective measures that need to be taken.
While this experience shaped my understanding of the technical side of flood emergencies, I also learned a great deal about the human side of emergency management through reading transcripts of interviews conducted by the team during listening sessions and focus groups with Belle Air neighborhood residents. The Belle Air neighborhood of San Bruno has experienced multiple flooding events in recent years and transcripts from listening sessions indicated its devastating physical and mental health impacts, as well as highlighting where residents had greatest need.
As part of the fellowship, I worked with a dedicated team of fellows to synthesize these listening sessions to create differentiated resource allocation strategies for diverse resident populations using direct resident quotes and behavioral insights. Specifically, I designed beginner, intermediate, and advanced tool menus matched to resident technical capacity, concern, and housing situations for what residents can do to protect their homes in case of flooding this winter as the organization works on how to most equitably distribute their grant resources for residents.
Floods are becoming more frequent and more severe across the country, and early warning systems, as well as community-centered research, can make the difference between safety and tragedy. My time with OneShoreline showed me that the future of climate resilience depends on not just technology but also equitable community engagement. OneShoreline’s way of engaging with the community through site visits and walks along with community workshops have illustrated to me the importance of lived experiences when designing technical solutions, one which I hope to include in my own research going forward. As I move forward from this summer, I am inspired to continue working at the intersection of science, policy, and community to help ensure that no resident is left behind in the face of flooding emergencies.
Monique Santoso is a second year PhD student in communication. Her PhD is centered on effective climate communication through emerging technologies to promote climate adaptation policy. As a Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area (PCJ in the Bay) Fellow, she worked with with OneShoreline and the San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management on the development of their emergency action plans for cross-jurisdictional watersheds that experience frequent flooding.
