Watch Duty, i wildfire warning app, introduces flood warnings to its popular disaster alert service. This is the second type of disaster to be covered widely, after wildfires; is available as a free update. If you have the app, allow it to track your location, and happen to be near a flood zone, Watch Duty will send you a notification with more information about the flood.
The nonprofit began in 2021 with a focus on California wildfires. The app has since been expanded across the US, where it uses a combination of paid staff “reporters” and many volunteers who monitor emergency radio stations and translate that information about disaster areas to the app’s users.
Watch Duty was a critical resource during the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles last year, providing real-time information about fire movement that users rely on. In the year since, Watch Duty has capitalized on that increased recognition and brought in thousands of new users and partnerships, including one with Amazon’s Ring camera that lets people share their Ring videos on Watch Duty when a fire is nearby.
Flood monitoring takes a different approach than wildfire monitoring. Floods are often very easy to monitor, because water moves in predictable ways. To prevent a dam burst or other unexpected event, flood paths are easy to track.
“The difference with floods is that we have more warning,” said John Mills, CEO of Watch Duty. “So frankly, it’s a little bit easier in some ways.”
Simple tracking and reporting does not mean that floods are less serious than fires. Information about flooding comes from various US agencies, such as FEMA, the National Weather Service, the US Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The problem with that, Mills argues, is that there is so much information coming from so many different sources that people find it difficult to reconcile everything and get a clear picture of the immediate concerns in their area. What he wants to do with Watch Duty is to put that information into perspective.
Courtesy of Watch Duty
Courtesy of Watch Duty
“You’re told to do something, but it’s too late,” Mills said. “It’s too small, it doesn’t work. With Watch Duty, you can start to consolidate a lot of information on one screen to make an informed decision.”
Watch Duty will not be able to communicate more granular details, such as where each tree comes down across a flood zone. Mills says that the floods in the Watch Duty will be introduced easily, focusing on where the floodplain is and what the water levels are. Flood forecasts are based on buoys that detect water levels. Watch Duty now allows users to find the nearest buoy and set an app notification if it reaches a level high enough that flooding is a threat.
Watch Duty has reported floods before, but those were one-time events. Getting the floods fully integrated into the service took time. Mills says having more disasters on Watch Duty has always been the plan, but ensuring the feature works has been a challenge—especially during busy fire seasons.
