UN University-led experts have created a new public tool that generates instant, accurate, street-level-resolution maps of floods worldwide since 1985. 

The free online World Flood Mapping Tool will help all countries, especially those in the Global South, where flood risk maps are rare and often badly out of date.

Created by the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health in Hamilton, Canada, with support from Google, MapBox and other partners, the tool lets users adjust variables to help locate gaps in flood defenses and responses, and to plan future development of all kinds, for example, where to build or upgrade infrastructure, or develop agriculture. 

Simple to use, the tool, at https://floodmapping.inweh.unu.edu, requires only Internet access to obtain a flood map at 30-m resolution. An upcoming version for more commercial uses, for example, by insurance firms, will offer even more precise building-level resolution.