Can technology help us fight flooding in cities?

From The Climate Question by BBC World Service

April 19, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode explores how technology, including drones and AI, is being used to combat flooding in urban areas.

With more and more people moving to cities, informal settlements are expected to grow. When floods hit these unplanned places, it can be disastrous, as we often don’t know much about them. Crucial questions often remain difficult to answer, like how many people live there, what are the buildings made of, and could they withstand a flood? In the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg, the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko visits a project using drones and artificial intelligence to help authorities prevent the worst impacts of flooding. And in Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil, we hear how an innovative digital map helped the emergency response – and will soon be available to all for free across the world. This programme was first broadcast in 2024. You can email us at theclimatequestion@bbc.com Guests: Rodrigo Rocha, Partner at the Responsive Cities Institute, Porto Alegre Dr Caroline Gevaert, Associate Professor at the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente Nomsa Maseko, the BBC’s South Africa Correspondent Presenter: Jordan Dunbar Producer: Osman Iqbal Researcher: Octavia Woodward Sound mix: Tom Brignell Editors: Sophie Eastaugh and…

People in this episode

Host: Jordan Dunbar

Guests: Rodrigo Rocha, Dr Caroline Gevaert, Nomsa Maseko

Topics covered

flooding
urban planning
technology
drones
artificial intelligence
emergency response

Keywords

flooding
cities
drones
artificial intelligence
urban planning
emergency response
digital mapping

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Responsive Cities Institute, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation

Places: Johannesburg, Porto Alegre