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UrbanFlood

European Commission review UrbanFlood

28 January 2013

 

On Friday January 25th UrbanFlood was reviewed for the last time by external reviewers from the European Commission and the result was “Excellent”!!!


Of course we are very happy with this acknowledgement of the quality and impact of the results we reached in the past three years.The UrbanFlood will be kept operational during the coming year(s) so if you are interested in monitoring infrastructures or other object please contact us.



Demonstration Video UrbanFlood

9 January 2013


Demonstration Video of the UrbanFlood Early Warning System with features of the Multi-Touch table interface developed in this EU funded UrbanFlood project. See the video.





Life after UrbanFlood

30 November 2012

 

On 30 November UrbanFlood ended its project activities. The consortium is proud of its achievements and the consortium members look back on a period of hard and extremely innovative work in a pleasant atmosphere. The concrete commercial leads in Europe and Asia will lead to a formal agreement on further collaboration in February 2013 and the continuation of the technical EWS services in 2013 and beyond.

 

In February 2013 Euronews will film the achievements of the UrbanFlood project. We will also have a demonstration video of the UrbanFlood EWS ready by then, so check the website.

 

In April 2013 the consortium will forward another proposal to the EU, on a related topic where the UrbanFlood technology provides a head start.

 

On behalf of the entire UrbanFlood team we wish you a happy Christmas and a good and innovative 2013!


Project coordinator Robert Meijer: “The European Commission wants to spread technologies that help citizens in urban areas to deal with the effects of climate change. The commission, professionals and citizens can now see the result of our project in The Crystal in London. Just Google for The Crystal sustainability centre to be informed on this very exciting place. In the Crystal you will see that UrbanFlood has created a very powerful EWS technology; that its artificial intelligence automatically learns the strength of 10000 km’s of dikes based on sensor measurements and warns if the conditions are such that a breach is indicated. This large scale application of artificial intelligence is a major achievement. And we know how this intelligence can be the heart of the monitoring of buildings, bridges and off-shore installations during earthquakes and storms. There are so many applications. I am sure everyone in the Crystal agrees the UrbanFlood system is a real ‘Smart City’ technology.”


“UrbanFlood expensive and complicated? On the contrary. The EWS is designed to minimize the burden for organisations to use the technology. The responsible organisations only have to put sensors in dikes and connect them to the internet. UrbanFlood will then generate a dedicated EWS for these dikes in the “Cloud”. Organisations only have to use the web or the UrbanFlood Windows 7/8 multi touch decision support application that they can download. And if you need advice from dike experts when there is an emergency: the experts of HR Wallingford can be switched online and give their advice. While the system is designed as a flood early warning tool it can also be used as a flood defence asset management tool. The bottom line is that you don’t get it better and cheaper. Ever.”

 

UrbanFlood ‘The Story’

28 November 2012

 

‘The Story’ (deliverable D7.9) is a brochure which will quickly give you an idea of the UrbanFlood Early Warning System, and some background on the project itself. Download the PDF



UrbanFlood in the news

28 November 2012

 

The UrbanFlood project manager, Nico Pals (TNO), is interviewed for a series called: ‘The Netherlands in seven floods’ for the NTR. NTR is a public service broadcasting organisation for information, education and culture with special attention to youth and diversity.

At the same time Euronews TV contacted Rob Meijer (TNO), UrbanFlood Project Coordinator, to explore a possibility to present UrbanFlood in one of the upcoming issues, a weekly TV series on EU-sponsored research projects, to be broadcasted on Euronews TV channel in 12 languages in 2013.

 

UrbanFlood on Euronews TV broadcasted 11 – 17 March 2013

Monday: 18:45, 01:45 Central European Time

Tuesday: 13:15, 18:15, 01:45

Wednesday: 10:15, 16:45, 02:45

Thursday: 14:15, 17:15, 01:45

Friday: 11:45, 15:45

Saturday: 06:45, 12:15, 17:45, 22:15

Sunday: 10:45, 14:15, 20:45

 

See also

www.euronews.com



 

Water Innovation Award 2012

28 November 2012

 

On Wednesday 28 November the Water Innovation Award 2012 is awarded in four categories in ‘De Rode Hoed’ Amsterdam. In the categoryCompanies wins DMC System from Friesland, an advanced sensor technology for dike monitoring. … more (Dutch)




3rd and final UrbanFlood Workshop

Thursday 22 November 2012 – Rotterdam, the Netherlands

The final UrbanFlood workshop was held as a part of the FLOODrisk2012 Conference. The session started early on a rainy Thursday morning in Rotterdam; nevertheless we welcomed 48 participants of 13 different nationalities. On the UrbanFlood website you will find the presented papers and video presentation of this very interesting and lively session, including the UrbanFlood video and the discussion at the end of the workshop.  … more


 



UrbanFlood exhibition and demonstration at FLOODrisk2012

20 – 22 November 2012

 

The exhibition of the UrbanFlood demonstration at the FLOODrisk2012 Conference in Rotterdam was a success, the multi-touch table was a big hit. Some quotes from the questionnaires collected at this exhibition.

 

  • Good job and hope to see an increase in number of sites added
  • Very exciting and visual product that is of great potential value to decision makers in an emergency
  • Very intuitive, an exciting tool!
  • Thanks for the demo!
  • We will need this kind of technology in the future. The link between monitoring and physical condition / performance needs improving



UrbanFlood exhibition at FLOODrisk2012

20 – 22 November 2012

 

Today we had the first successful exhibition day of the UrbanFlood demonstration at FLOODrisk2012 Conference at Rotterdam, The Netherlands … more


 

The Soft Dike Software – Using Sensors and Software Against the Flood 

14 November 2012


Climate change is here. The poles are melting. Sea levels are rising. Storms of the century like “Katrina” or “Sandy” come every few years. They mostly threaten coastal cities – and New York was the latest. Together with UrbanFlood partners, Siemens Corporate Technology developed an early warning system for dike breaches and flooding. The idea: insert sensors into the dike which measure water pressure, temperature, and shifting. The measured data flows into a software in order to realize the danger of dike breaches at a very early stage… more (video)



Cracow Grid Workshop ’12 (CGW12)

31 October 2012

 

Cyfronet gave an oral presentation and made a poster about UrbanFlood Common Information Space (CIS) at Cracow Grid Workshop 2012. … more



 

Final IJkdijk experiment and a new LiveDijk-project

3 October 2012

 

This autumn UrbanFlood participated in the final IJkdijk experiment at Bellingwolde, Groningen, in the Netherlands. It was a so-called “All-In-One Sensor Validation Test’. Before the experiment no one knew the failure mechanism by which the two test dikes, both filled with sensors, would collapse. The results showed that both the UrbanFlood Artificial Intelligence module as well as its Virtual Dike finite element model indicated the two dike breaches well in advance.

 

And: A new LiveDijk project just started in the Province of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Two dikes are now monitored in real-time using sensors inside these dikes: the ‘Grechtdijk’ in Woerden and the ‘Voorhavendijk’ at the ‘Beatrix Locks’ in Nieuwegein. UrbanFlood partners STOWA and TNO are involved in this LiveDijk project as a member of the IJkdijk Foundation. …more (Dutch)




Start of Livedijk XL Noorderzijlvest

20 September 2012

 

From 24 September a part of the ‘Ommelanderzeedijk’ north of Delfzijl will get innovative sensors… more (Dutch)



UrbanFlood Roadshows in the UK

10 September 2012

 

The UrbanFlood Early Warning System has been travelling recently; partner HR Wallingford has demonstrated the system to a number of UK flood- and water management organisations in July and August. The response has been quite positive indeed. A selection of reactions:


“Ideal for Emergency Planning!”

“Useful during incident management at a tactical level”

“Tool for evacuating (LSM) particularly useful when working with multi-agency partners (Police / Fire & Rescue/County Councils)”

“Useful but would need to be more robust, capable of being used simultaneously across UK. Use on i-pads and i-phones, lifetime of equipment within defence?”

“No such thing as having too much data in my opinion”

 

The respondents thought that UrbanFlood EWS could be useful for organisations like emergency planners; water companies – risk assessment / monitoring of dams; owners of large raised reservoirs; Environment Agency; Health Protection Agency; Highways Agency (geotechnical monitoring of slopes); any groups associated with flood risk management.

 

All in all: a very diverse group of potential users!



IJkdijk breaches: what happened?

10 September 2012

 

Entirely according to plan, two test dikes collapsed on 26 and 27 August 2012. This was done at the IJkdijk location …more





UrbanFlood article in Innovation and Research Focus

5 September2012

 

Future proofing our built environment and infrastructure.

Timely detection of the onset of potential flooding in urban environments has been the objective of the UrbanFlood Project. It uses interactive sensor networks to warn of changes in the condition of flood defences and the development of increased flood risk…. more


Download the UrbanFlood article Innovation and Research Focus, August 2012



IJkdijk activities

18 August 2012

 

Invitation for IJKdijk activities in August and September 2012. You are welcome to visit the IJKdijk location during the tests, by appointment or during the visitor’s days. … more (Dutch), www.ijkdijk.nl

See the webcam at Bellingwolde, The Netherlands



UK demonstrations of the UrbanFlood Early Warning System

16 July 2012

 

HR Wallingford will organise in various cities around the UK demonstrations of the UrbanFlood Early Warning System. If you want to attend these UrbanFlood road shows, send an email to Alexandra Topple Each event is limited to 30 people.

 

Dates and locations are:

Maidstone, 3rd August 2012

Birmingham, 7th August 2012

Peterborough, 4th September 2012

Manchester, 9th October 2012

Leeds, 10th October 2012

Bristol, 16th October 2012

Cardiff, 17th October 2012

Exeter, 23rd October 2012




The importance of Flood Early Warning

11 July 2012


This week in Russia 171 people died, 400 injured and 35,000 affected by floods in the Kuban region of Russia. The Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia issued a storm warning several hours before the beginning of a torrential rain, but no flood alert has been issued.

 

NO warning: 171 died in Russia

YES warning: 4 died in Japan, BBC News Asia

 

Russia Beyond the Headlines, July 9, 2012 … more

B92 News July 10, 2012 … more

 

Photos on Google


Dramatic video: Fatal flooding kills dozens in southern Russia

Destroyed & Devastated: Russia grieves by Russia Today

More videos of Russian Floods.



UrbanFlood demonstration at The Crystal

Summer 2012 – London, UK

The Crystal in London is for everyone who cares about creating a better future for our cities. Visitors to the Crystal can explore an interactive exhibition about trends affecting cities, and ways to make them more sustainable and better places to live. Of course a demonstration of UrbanFlood is part of this very interesting and important exhibition.

Follow this link to view the UrbanFlood demonstration (new version on July 14, 2012).

Opening in the summer of 2012 in London’s Green Enterprise District, the Crystal is London’s newest landmark and visitor experience. An iconic green building, with a comprehensive visitor centre and state-of-the-art conference facilities, it also aims to promote independent dialogue and collaboration on sustainable cities.



 

Stakeholder feedback requested

3 July 2012

Following the suggestion of the Review Committee we would like to invite interested stakeholders to download two important UrbanFlood reports: D2.1 Early Warning Systems and the Mitigation of Climate Change Induced Disasters (Stakeholder Requirements) and D2.2 Functionality & Architecture of Internet Based EWS and EWS Hosting Platforms. These reports were published in 2010. The UrbanFlood community is very interested in your comments and views, and suggestions for updates and improvements.

Please send your suggestions to Bob Pengel, the WP2 task leader.



Consortium meeting

30 – 31 May 2012 – Krakow, Poland

The last UrbanFlood Consortium meeting was in Krakow, Poland. We had an excellent meeting, progress was up to expectations. Two Advisory Board members joined most of the meetings which enabled them to give their views and reflections.



Deltafact on sensors in dikes updated

2 July 2012


Follow this link (Dutch) for more information.



Future of dike monitoring

28 June 2012


The project that can be considered ‘the parent’ of UrbanFlood is still active. A very interesting new experiment will take place in August-September this year, for more information see this press release: release: Future of dike monitoring


For more information check www.ijkdijk.nl.

For live images of the construction of the dikes check http://www.bouwcam.com/cameras/bellingwolde




Flood defence technology tested in Lincolnshire

18 May 2012

 

New technology which can detect possible failures in flood defence embankments is being tested in Lincolnshire.

Sensors have been installed in the bank of the River Haven, in Boston, to detect changes below ground such as temperature, moisture and movement.The data is sent to a control room via the internet, so that any changes in the flood defences can be investigated.

 

The project (UrbanFlood) is being funded by the European Commission. …more or download the BBC News article.




Boston Visitor centre

26 April 2012


The Boston Visitor centre is receiving positive feedback on the installation of the multi-touch screen. Visitors to the centre have been using the multi touch screen to learn more about the flood defences where they live. A feedback book is located next to the multi touch screen and we are actively encouraging members of the public to comment in the book.

Comments from the public include:

“Very interesting, really amazing what can be done these days”

“I have learnt something new today about where I live, it is reassuring to know we are in ‘safe’ hands when it comes to flooding problems”

“It’s exciting to see in Boston”



UrbanFlood on Polish TV

10 April 2012

 

UrbanFlood was broadcast on Polish Television. See the link (Polish)

And on local news where UrbanFlood was mentioned briefly see link at 10:30 (Polish)



The technology of monitoring dikes with sensors is spreading

8 March 2012

 

The technology of monitoring dikes with sensors is spreading in the Netherlands. A new important dike on the Rhine, protecting the Eem Valley and the cities of Veenendaal and Amersfoort (The Netherlands), is now being monitored using the sensor technology of Alert Solutions, which is also used in UrbanFlood projects.

Follow this link (Dutch)

 


Water Boards and UrbanFlood on Dutch television
‘the Netherlands from Above’

7 January 2012


Episode 6. Water: friend or enemy?
10 January 2012, on TV ‘Nederland 1’

The Water Boards will be on television with their work in virtually all ten episodes. But in episode six on 10 January 2012, the emphasis is on our efforts to keep the Netherlands dry.
The ‘Afsluitdijk’, the Delta works, the fight against water has resulted in flood protection works where we in the Netherlands can be proud of. But anyone who thinks that the fight against the water is completed is wrong. A breach of a dike is the biggest threat that our small country faces. Using sensors, we will be able to monitor the dikes better. This is explained by our project manager Nico Pals, halfway in this episode 6.

Follow this link (Dutch) for information on all episodes.


Groningen still threatened by flooding

6 January 2012


The heavy rainfall that accompanied the storms of the past few days have led to critically high water levels in the northern-most provinces of Groningen and Friesland.

On Thursday (5 January 2012), a dike near the Groningen town of Tolbert was in danger of collapse, but the situation there has since stabilised. On Friday, the condition of a dike along the Eems Canal became critical. About 800 inhabitants of several villages along the canal have been evacuated.

Download article Expatica.Com or read more on Euro News