Blackberry partners with University of Windsor to monitor floods

Blackberry released a new flood risk and clean water monitoring solution on August 3rd to provide autonomous early warning before upcoming flood attacks.

Based on BlackBerry's AtHoc Critical Event Management platform, the new solution was developed in partnership with the University of Windsor and aims to provide an affordable way of monitoring seasonal and non-seasonal water-related risks. The company says its new monitoring system could save municipalities up to $1 million per year in operating expenses and disaster preparedness.

Blackberry hopes to deploy its new solutions in Canada in areas where natural disasters commonly affect indigenous people.

"Autonomous early warning and real-time monitoring are critical to providing adequate time to address at-risk communities around the world," said Mike McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor. in press release. "We are proud to partner with BlackBerry on this important and unique technology."

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, floods caused one of the most damaging events in 2020. Between April 26 and May 3, the Fort McMurray flood caused $562 million in damage. Additionally, Canada saw an increase in rain, hail and snow, all of which have caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure.

The urgent need to improve natural disaster mitigation and response will deepen in the years to come. According to Blackberry, 1.5 billion people around the world are at risk of flooding. The issues are expected to increase in intensity as climate change worsens.

"Globally, societies must increasingly rely on autonomous monitoring of air and water to inform our understanding of the environment and alert us to the impending threat," McKay said.

Blackberry was not immediately available for comment.