People in the U.S. and Canada can now use Google’s flood forecasting tool to better adapt to and prepare for the changing climate. Flood Hub offers real-time flood alerts informing communities, humanitarian organizations, and local governments of upcoming flood-related disasters.

The free-to-access data is available via Google Maps and Search in more than 80 countries, and offers forecasts up to a week in advance, allowing local institutions to improve their flood risk monitoring and prepare the public for emergencies. In the U.S. and Canada, Flood Hub has announced an expansion of riverine flood forecasts, which includes over 800 river areas inhabited by over 12 million people.

As disastrous floods wreak havoc across the world more and more often, the need for early alerts and adaptation increases exponentially each year.