The 2,175-mile system of interconnected, man-made canals crisscrossing Florida, from Orlando to the Keys, has a particularly important role when a hurricane happens to be pinwheeling toward the peninsula: Flood control.
Before a storm is set to make landfall, water managers strategically lower canal levels to absorb incoming rainfall and storm surge. But as the tragedies in Texas and Spain have shown, floods are as unpredictable as they are dangerous. And they are getting harder to get a handle on. Weather conditions change on a dime and any sudden shifts can overwhelm conventional flood models.
Traditional physics-based models replicate canal systems in meticulous detail, accounting for factors from water flow to gate operations. While precise, these simulations require enormous computational power and can take close to an hour to complete. In fast-moving storm conditions, delays can hinder timely decision-making.
Read more at FIU News .