Harnessing the data revolution to mitigate flood impacts on vulnerable communities in sub-Saharan Africa

Floodings impact communities in the Global South profoundly and increasingly, where flood risk assessments often ignore critical infrastructure disruptions that disproportionately impact underserved communities. This project proposes a data-driven tool combining satellite imagery, volunteered geographic information data, and machine learning to enhance infrastructure mapping in sub-Saharan Africa. By modeling how floods affect infrastructure and health care services in the region, and by identifying underserved communities prior to flood impact, the tool offers actionable insights for disaster preparedness. It aims to enhance flood risk mitigation, disaster response, and climate adaptation by optimizing pre-disaster investment strategies to reduce post-disaster health care accessibility loss, ultimately saving lives and strengthening infrastructure resilience for millions in vulnerable regions.