The role of Hydrological Services in the face of flooding

River flooding is one of the most costly natural hazards in economic, social, and environmental terms. In a context of growing climate uncertainty, it is essential to adopt a strategic approach to reducing the damage caused by floods. In this context, the role of hydrological services is more important than ever.

A coordinated strategy to address a complex phenomenon

Flood management requires joint and planned action that combines infrastructure, technology, governance, and citizen participation. But none of these actions can work without a solid knowledge base based on quality hydrological information. Anticipating the worst potential effects of a flood requires accurate, continuous, and up-to-date data. They are essential.

Sometimes, it won't be possible to avoid material damage, but it will almost always be possible to save human lives, potentially achieving zero losses, or at least limiting them to accidental, sadly unavoidable losses.

Hydrological services—technical structures made up of specialized professionals—are responsible for collecting, analyzing, and distributing this vital information. These teams face increasing technical challenges, making their updating and modernization critical. And they also need incentives.

Recurring modernization of hydrological services

Modernizing hydrological services is not an option, but a necessity. The use of new, ever-evolving measurement and observation technologies, advanced hydrological modeling, and big data platforms can improve the predictive and operational capacity of these institutions.

Furthermore, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into data and model management offers unprecedented possibilities for flood forecasting, issuing warnings, and designing rapid and effective response systems. This innovation, however, requires constant investment, not only in technology but also in highly trained human resources.

The importance of ongoing training and education

One of the key pillars for the effectiveness of hydrological services is specialized training. Current challenges, such as increasingly frequent torrential rains or the interaction between urban and natural systems, require technicians and engineers with up-to-date knowledge and the ability to respond quickly.

It is essential to promote ongoing training programs so that professionals can competently handle critical situations, correctly interpret data and models, and collaborate with other stakeholders in the field. Furthermore, training must also be multidisciplinary, connecting hydrology with other areas of knowledge or practice, such as environmental management, urban and land-use planning, emergency management, and the operation of hydraulic works.

Public information and education. Foundations for self-protection.

Citizens are also active agents in emergency situations. People's self-protection capabilities are the main guarantee for avoiding human losses. Any approach not based on this premise would require "an angel" behind each person.

Public preparedness requires that everyone be aware of the risks, have some understanding of hydrometeorological phenomena, and be able to interpret warnings and other hydrological information.

Citizens must have initiatives aimed at educating themselves on the subject, which must come from the administrations, especially specialized agencies. Their self-protection will depend on their understanding. But the public must trust the institutions and their professionals, and distrust the opportunistic usurpers and other "digital shouters," so common in this era of unfiltered information overload. If we trust in democracy and freedom, the person responsible for applying filters must be the citizen themselves, but to do so, they must have a certain level of training and be accustomed to receiving information from the appropriate specialists.

Public-private collaboration for sustainable solutions

Both the public and private sectors have much to contribute. Governments must lead planning and regulation, ensuring long-term stability and continuity, but companies and independent professionals can offer technological solutions (forecasting models, analytical tools, and resources for implementation), flexible and agile human resources, and the ability to adapt to a changing reality. This synergy between actors is essential for developing a resilient, modern, and well-equipped hydrological services network.

Affordable costs, incalculable benefits

The cost of investing in modernization and human resources is often perceived as high. However, it is actually an investment with a very high return when compared to the losses caused by floods each year. Preparation is always more cost-effective—and more humane—than repair, and it is morally obligatory when lives are at risk, as is the case here.

Conclusion

Reducing flood damage necessarily requires strengthening our hydrological services. This entails modernizing their infrastructure, updating their technologies, improving the quality of their data, and, above all, training, coaching, and motivating their professionals with a forward-thinking approach.

In these times when the climate can seem unpredictable, and when land occupation is high and growing, preparation makes the difference between disaster and resilience. Investing in modern, effective, and knowledge-based water management means investing in a safer future for all.

Now more than ever, even in the current political context in which it seems that some people want to return to patrimonialist schemes from bygone eras, approaches founded on the concept of procedural bureaucracy, based on trained and educated professionals, with organizations that operate with excellence, merit, and capacity as their maxims, are evident as the only possible solution.

There have already been important advances in operational hydrology, but it is not enough.