When floodwaters strike, communities and first responders lack information regarding real-time flood-induced roadway access and respective evacuation routes. Moreover, despite the wealth of research attempting to analyze flood-induced roadway access, a significant knowledge gap was discovered, particularly in examining at a network level.

We research the development of a digital twinning platform that visualizes flood-induced roadway damages and access routes during an extreme event and predicts the best possible routes for accessing victims. We investigate whether this cyber-enabled platform can help connect coastal communities, first responders, and local infrastructure practitioners with the predictive information they need. We claim that this digital twining hub and its associated toolkits will save time and lives, maximize the likelihood of success of evacuation and rescue, and improve the social connectedness of coastal communities.

This research project is formulated under award # NA22OAR4170092 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.