← Back to catalogue
Published

flood

vr.tr.flood · thing-flood

Let an agent handle floods by type, warnings, safety actions, recovery and risk, routing people in danger to emergency services and official warnings first.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.FLW
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Emergency Danger now.

Danger

Immediate risk.

Danger

Immediate danger.

  1. Is anyone trapped or in immediate danger from water? boundary
  2. Which emergency number should be called now? action

Actions

Staying safe.

Actions

Safety actions.

  1. What do official sources advise, such as never driving or walking through floodwater? provenance
  2. Where are evacuation centres? provenance
Warnings Official information.

Current

Warnings in force.

Current

Current warnings.

  1. Which flood warnings are in force here, from the official service? provenance
  2. What does each warning level mean? definition

Alerts

Sign-up.

Alerts

Alert services.

  1. How can people sign up for flood alerts? action
  2. Which channels are used? provenance
Risk Property and planning.

Property

Risk maps.

Property

Property flood risk.

  1. What is the flood risk for this location, according to official maps? provenance
  2. What resilience measures are possible? action

Planning

Development.

Planning

Planning rules.

  1. Is the site in a designated flood zone? provenance
  2. What planning rules apply? provenance
Recovery After the flood.

Clean-up

Safe return.

Clean-up

Safe clean-up.

  1. When is it safe to return, and how should electrics and contamination be handled? provenance
  2. Who can inspect the property? action

Support

Insurance and aid.

Support

Recovery support.

  1. Which insurance or government support schemes exist? provenance
  2. How can claims be made? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
noun.phenomenon
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.FLW
Facets: substance
energy
Facets: origin
natural
Facets: agency
inert
Facets: mobility
not-applicable
Facets: scale
not-applicable
Facets: affordances
observable
Other names and narrower kinds
inundation, deluge, alluvion, debacle, flash flood, flashflood, floodhead

What it is Filled

The rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land, including river, coastal, surface water and flash floods, caused by heavy rain, storm surges, snowmelt or dam failure.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent handle floods by type, warnings, safety actions, recovery and risk, routing people in danger to emergency services and official warnings first.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Water on normally dry land
  • Several causes and types
  • Forecast and warned by agencies
  • Deadly when water is fast or deep

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Issue or spread flood warnings or all-clears that the competent authority has not given.
  • Direct people or vehicles through flood water.
  • Operate sluices, pumps or barriers without the authority of their operator.
  • Publish addresses of evacuated homes in a way that invites looting.

Only with a human decision

  • Ordering or advising evacuation of an area.
  • Opening or closing flood defences.

May

  • Report river levels, warnings and flood extent from official sources.
  • Relay official flood warnings and evacuation advice to people who have asked for alerts.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Floods kill people, often those who try to cross moving water or are poorly warned.
  • Flood risk falls unequally, often on poorer communities with less insurance.

Who is affected

  • People in flood-prone areas
  • Emergency responders
  • Farmers and businesses

Owners Filled

Steward

The public: civil protection and environmental agencies issue warnings; defences have their own operators.

Master systems

  • Flood risk maps and warning systems of the national environment agency

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • oewn-11437786-n - registry parent class

related

  • natural hazard - category
  • heavy rain and storm surge - causes
  • flood defence - mitigation
  • flood warning service - service

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.flood
  • Open English WordNet: oewn-11475008-n

Direct properties required Filled

  • Water depth: m - Water depth is measured as the vertical distance between the local ground surface and the floodwater surface.
  • Flow velocity: m/s - Flow velocity is measured using current meters or remote sensing with the location and averaging method recorded.
  • Inundated area: km2 - Inundated area is measured by mapping floodwater boundaries at a stated time using surveys or remote sensing.
  • Inundation duration: h - Inundation duration is measured as the elapsed time that a specified location remains covered by floodwater.

Recognition required Filled

  • Water beyond normal channels
  • Warning levels from authorities
  • Flood in the sense of a large amount is figurative
  • Water covering roads, fields and buildings, often muddy and fast-flowing.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • find official flood warnings
  • follow safety advice during floods
  • check flood risk for a property
  • find recovery and insurance information

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Driving or walking through floodwater
  • Contaminated water
  • Electrical hazards in flooded buildings

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • EU Floods Directive
  • National flood warning systems
  • Planning rules for flood zones

Context of use required Filled

  • A natural hazard with major effects on people, property and ecosystems.
  • river (fluvial) floods
  • coastal floods and storm surges
  • surface water (pluvial) floods
  • flash floods
  • groundwater floods

Sources Filled

  1. Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-11475008-n - sense and gloss of the concept
  2. Wiktionary: flood - word senses and usage

Open questions

  • Should flood types be separate entries?
  • How should warning services be localised?
  • How should historical floods be linked?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-flood/spec.json