FloodVision: Visuals for coastal flooding events

FloodVision provides photorealistic, street-level visuals of projected coastal flooding to help the public understand storm surge risks. The tool uses stereoscopic video, LiDAR, and GPS data combined with generative AI to model flood depths above road level, aligning with National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts. Beyond immediate storm response, these visuals are intended for long-term resilience planning, such as securing funding and improving zoning decisions. The guide outlines a process for requesting curated visuals and establishes ethical guidelines to protect private property and ensure the tool supplements, rather than replaces, official government guidance.

• FloodVision generates photorealistic visualizations of flood depths by integrating stereoscopic street-level video, LiDAR, and GPS data to estimate the elevation of every pixel, which is then processed by generative AI.
• The tool models flood depths above road level to maintain consistency with National Hurricane Center (NHC) storm surge inundation references, which are measured above ground level.
• Beyond emergency communication, FloodVision visuals support long-term resilience by assisting public officials in applying for state and federal funding, targeting repetitive loss areas, and informing zoning and planning decisions.
• The visualizations are based on sea-level projections from the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) and the 2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report, though they utilize a "bathtub model" that assumes uniform water levels and does not account for dynamic factors like erosion or coastal defenses outside the scanned region.
• To protect privacy, FloodVision restricts visuals to public properties, landmarks, and general streetscapes, while explicitly avoiding images that make individual private homes the central focus or display personally identifiable information.

APA

Climate Central (n.d.). FloodVision: Visuals for coastal flooding events. https://www.climatecentral.org/visuals-for-coastal-flooding-events

Chicago

Climate Central. FloodVision: Visuals for coastal flooding events. n.d. https://www.climatecentral.org/visuals-for-coastal-flooding-events.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=FloodVision: Visuals for coastal flooding events |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/visuals-for-coastal-flooding-events |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentralndfloodvision, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{FloodVision: Visuals for coastal flooding events}}, institution = {Climate Central}, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/visuals-for-coastal-flooding-events}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }