Using volunteered information to map the Queensland floods

Abstract

The recent flood events and tropical cyclones in Queensland have dramatically impacted on people's lives across the State. Damage in excess of five billion dollars has been reported and the cost to the economy continues to rise. Although most of the flooding has receded, the clean-up and re-building will continue for years. The Queensland floods were characterised by the unprecedented use of social media to report events as they happened and was used very effectively by the main stream media. Social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook, not only informed people of the events as they unfolded, they have now also provided a historical archive for use in future planning and mapping. Although the Commonwealth and State governments and the private sector did a magnificent job in mapping the flood events where possible, a number of gaps still exist. This paper discusses the use of volunteered geographic information such as photographs and videos to assist in mapping the flood extents in regions where there was little or no mapping available. Through the integration of volunteered information with existing geographic information, hydrological data and local knowledge, flood extents can be re-constructed and hence mapped.