Flickr tags could help predict floods

Pictures of streams and other bodies of water uploaded to the photo-sharing site Flickr could help scientists predict floods before they inundate communities, according to a new study. Though the approach doesn't provide as many data as traditional flood-forecasting models, it could become more powerful as social media becomes ever-more pervasive.  

Hydrologists usually predict floods by monitoring storm conditions and the amount of rainfall. They also use wireless electronic sensors placed in and near bodies of water to measure water levels and drainage in real time. But sensor data aren't available from everywhere, and scientists are always looking for ways to extend how far in advance they and local officials can forecast a flood.

Enter social media. In recent years, researchers have used sites such as Twitter to track the extent of a flood by identifying and mapping tweets describing inundations of water. Scientists have also turned to Flickr, a photo-sharing website that allows anyone to upload images marked with tags and captions that also have corresponding location coordinates. In one study, for example, researchers noted a strong correlation between the change in atmospheric pressure during Hurricane Sandy and images uploaded to Flickr marked with tags related to the storm. As air pressure decreased—the mark of a hurricane—more people uploaded images with tags such as “Sandy.”

[...]