How does SEPA predict flooding?
Our flood forecasts are based on up-to-date river and coastal monitoring – a system that predicts both the likelihood and the timing of floods. This system is kept updated by our team of Flood Warning Duty Officers, based at SEPA offices across the country, who are on call 24 hours a day. These officers are experienced hydrologists who use weather forecasts, rainfall data, river level data and tidal forecasts to predict the likelihood of flooding. There has been significant investment in the technology behind SEPA’s river forecasting and weather monitoring techniques and, in some areas, our forecasts can even predict the time of floods occurring at a street by street level.
