Talk:Flood warning

Merge tags

I added merge proposals to merge this into one of two articles, flood alert or flash flood warning. Not sure which - I suspect flood warning terminology differs by country and these are different terms used in different countries. It might be useful to merge all the different flood warning articles into a single article. Right now this topic is a hard to navigate mess with three different articles on essentially the same thing. Any ideas? KleenupKrew (talk) 19:07, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

I added the two stray articles flood alert and flash flood warning to Category:Flood and this should make it easier to consider the full context. It seems to me that these two articles (while also being USA-centric, which could be corrected) start from, and concentrate mainly on, a meteorological basis. The first even attributes the task of flood alerts to "government weather agencies". It is important to cover both dissemination and reaction. Melcombe (talk) 09:00, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Oppose merge, as flash flooding is specificly the rapid rising of flood water. A flood warning is not issued if the water level rises rapidly, because a flash flood warning would be used. When flooding is expected to be slow, but still dangerous, or flooding has already occured, a flood warning is used. --Delta1989 (talk/contributions) 21:29, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Oppose merge. They are separate products as issued by the National Weather Service...FFW and FAW are the SAME/VTEC codes...separate, notable products = separate articles. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 23:23, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Oppose merge. They are separate products. I propose that this proposal be closed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Henrycluker (talk • contribs) 04:43, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Merge templates had/have already been removed. Melcombe (talk) 14:12, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

There are more countries than just the Philippines, United Kingdom, and the United States that issues flood warnings.

There are more than just three countries that issue flood warnings. For instance, most (if not all) of the Meteoalarm countries issue color coded flood warnings. Also, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology also issues flood watches and warnings. 2601:5C5:4201:68B0:C18E:5779:B9BD:2002 (talk) 19:18, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

Request to add a section explaining flood-warning system functions

Conflict-of-interest disclosure: I work for AEM, which provides flood-monitoring, forecasting, decision-support, and warning technology. Some of the sources included in this request are published by AEM. Because of that relationship, I am submitting this proposed addition for review rather than editing the article directly.

Extended content

The article currently focuses primarily on the issuance and communication of flood warnings, but it provides very limited explanation of the systems and processes responsible for producing those warnings and getting them into the hands of those who need them. It does not adequately describe how observations are collected and transmitted, how forecasting and modeling are used to anticipate flooding, how near-term risk is evaluated, or how warnings and protective actions are triggered. The proposed section would address this substantial gap by giving readers a concise, end-to-end explanation of how modern flood warning systems function.

I suggest adding the following section before the “By country” section:

Proposed addition

 
== System functions == 
 
Flood warning systems generally need to perform five key functions: observation, data transmission and management, forecasting and analysis, decision support, and warning and response.<ref>{{cite report |title=Manual on Flood Forecasting and Warning |publisher=World Meteorological Organization |url=https://library.wmo.int/viewer/58245/ |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> 
 
'''Observation''' may include data from rain gauges, weather radar, weather stations, stream and water-level sensors, satellites, and other monitoring sources.<ref>{{cite web |title=Integrated Flood Forecasting and Warning Systems |publisher=National Weather Service |url=https://www.weather.gov/media/crh/publications/TA/TA_0202.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> Radar-based rainfall estimates may be adjusted using measurements from ground-based rain gauges to improve estimates of rainfall amount and spatial distribution.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gauge-Adjusted Radar Rainfall |publisher=AEM |url=https://aem.eco/product/gauge-adjusted-radar-rainfall-garr/ |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> 
 
'''Data transmission and management''' moves observations from field and remote-sensing sources into the systems used for forecasting, visualization, and alerting. This may include telemetry, data integration, quality control, storage, and external data feeds. Depending on location and network requirements, data may be transmitted through radio, cellular, satellite, or other communications. For automated flood warning networks, ALERT2 is a modern radio-telemetry standard designed for rapid, reliable transmission from large networks of rainfall and water-level sensors.<ref>{{cite web |title=About ALERT2 |publisher=ALERT2 Technical Working Group |url=https://www.alert2.org/about/ |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> 
 
'''Forecasting and analysis''' combine current observations with near-term weather forecasts and hydrological or hydraulic models to anticipate runoff, streamflow, river stage, flood timing, or inundation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vflo Flood Forecasting |publisher=AEM |url=https://aem.eco/product/vflo-flood-forecast/ |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> The United States National Weather Service, for example, uses rainfall-runoff models to calculate forecast flows and convert them into river-stage forecasts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Forecast Methods |publisher=Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center, National Weather Service |url=https://www.weather.gov/abrfc/fcstmethods |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> 
 
'''Decision support''' systems combine observations, forecasts, model outputs, thresholds, maps, and operational rules to assess near-term flood risk and determine whether warnings or protective actions are needed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service |publisher=National Weather Service |url=https://www.weather.gov/serfc/ahps |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> 
 
'''Warning and response''' may include automated notifications, public information systems, flashing roadside signs, barrier gates, road closures, and other protective actions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flood Stations |publisher=AEM |url=https://aem.eco/product/flood-stations/ |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref> At flood-prone road crossings, warning devices may activate automatically when sensors detect hazardous water levels.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wet Weather Safety |publisher=Bexar County, Texas |url=https://www.bexar.org/2149/Wet-Weather-Safety |access-date=15 July 2026}}</ref>

Rationale and sourcing

The proposed section explains the operational chain connecting environmental monitoring, data transmission, forecasting, near-term risk assessment, warning dissemination, and protective action. It would complement the article’s existing discussion of how warning decisions are made and communicated.

The broader framework and supporting technical claims are sourced primarily to the World Meteorological Organization, the United States National Weather Service, the ALERT2 Technical Working Group, and Bexar County, Texas.

Three AEM sources are included for specific technical subjects directly addressed by those materials:

• adjusting radar-derived rainfall estimates using ground-based rain-gauge measurements;
• using hydrological and hydraulic modeling to forecast flood conditions; and
• using flood-warning stations with flashing roadside signs and barrier gates.

The proposed article text describes these concepts generically and does not name AEM or any AEM product. I recognize that the AEM sources are company-controlled and welcome changes to the language, citations, length, or placement by uninvolved editors.

Mike Nichols (AEM) (talk) 20:32, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

Reply 18-JUL-2026

  Edit request declined  

• The Wikipedia flood warnings article mentions the main gateway for flood warnings in the US, the National Weather Service.
• The article discusses NWS warnings in general and does not delineate which specific technologies are in widespread or limited use by repeating agencies.
• The proposed text discusses, in part, the flood warning enhancement Alert2 ALERT2 is a modern radio-telemetry standard designed for rapid, reliable transmission from large networks of rainfall and water-level sensors which is in use by 80 repeating agencies. This technology is proprietery in nature, in that only 2 software providers support messaging.
• Thus, the proposed text would not fit in with how information is being discussed currently in the article, which is to mention how NWS communicates these warnings but not to go into any great detail, all of which the proposed text does.

Regards,  Spintendo  20:21, 18 July 2026 (UTC)