Mozambique has faced constant water-related risks, from flooding (such as the devastating impacts of back-to-back cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019, and the recent Cyclone Eloise in early 2021) to extreme droughts, which are even more common. Reducing risks associated with disasters, particularly flooding and drought, can make it easier to help households escape chronic poverty and develop resilience to future shocks. Additional research is needed to augment existing hydrological data, towards anticipating and planning for disaster mitigation in geographic regions across Mozambique.
This Data Innovation Fund project, “HydroPC: Hydrological Forecasting using Publicly Available Data and Free Cloud-based Technologies (Mozambique)”, focused on using the Google Earth Engine – an online environment to access, process, and analyze satellite data – for various types of hydrological analyses, with particular attention paid to analyses supporting flood and drought forecasting.
As a result of the project, new hydrological data access and analysis techniques were provided to authorities in Mozambique. The project also strengthened and enhanced the technical autonomy of the Unit for Flood and Drought Control (UFDC) and of its partnering government organizations in Mozambique. For this purpose, training and co-development sessions were held that led to the development of an experimental, interactive data platform using the Google Earth Engine, known as HydroPC.
The new HydroPC platform links to four interactive applications on water occurrence, channel dynamics, precipitation monitoring, and reservoir monitoring. These applications were co-developed with beneficiaries in Mozambique, who also helped to select and prioritize functionalities of the applications to ensure the practical applicability of the platform.
Relevant Sustainable Development Goals include: 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 13 (Climate Action).
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