Niwa’s New Zealand Flood Pics project is part of a five-year Endeavour Fund research programme aimed at examining how New Zealand’s flood risk will change over the next century from climate warming, more frequent and extreme weather events, and land-use changes.
Niwa climate and environmental applications principal scientist Dr Andrew Lorrey said as well as being used by Niwa and its research partners, the database would provide a free resource about recent floods in New Zealand, searchable by location, date and keyword.
Photos taken on a smartphone could be uploaded via Niwa’s citizen science app, which geolocated where the photo was taken, and there would also be options to input more information about the flood.
"We really hope that New Zealanders will help us capture photo evidence of floods across the country.
"These snapshots will build up our knowledge of where and when flood impacts occur.
"Floods are unfortunately increasing in frequency and severity across Aotearoa, meaning they pose one of the biggest risk areas for society.
"The photo database we’re building will support new strategies to increase resilience, which is more important than ever."
Tonkin and Taylor Engineering manager and flood risk specialist Jon Rix pioneered the development of New Zealand Flood Pics.
He said efforts to protect people and property from floods in New Zealand had traditionally been hampered by the lack of actual flood information.
"Through the simple application of smartphone photography, New Zealand Flood Pics can provide a meaningful contribution toward reducing flood risk by providing direct evidence of floods.
"I am really excited by the development of Niwa’s citizen science app, as we look to gather more information to support our country’s flood management decision-making," he said.
