TraceMark™ Flow: Empowering the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport in Traffic Monitoring and Flood Mitigation
The recent heavy rain event in the Arabian Gulf, in April 2024, presented a significant challenge for Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT). The floods caused major disruptions to traffic flow and infrastructure damage resulting in inconveniences for residents.
While we can't rewind time, it's worth exploring how innovative solutions like TraceMark™ Flow, a Google Cloud travel time solution for traffic monitoring by NGIS, was used to empower DMT operations and how TraceMark™ Flow could be further enhanced to enable DMT to better manage similar situations in the future.
The flooding natural disaster event underscored the need for robust infrastructure and intelligent traffic management systems. TraceMark™ Flow excels at traffic data analysis, and was used by DMT’s Abu Dhabi Mobility’s Operations team to immediately understand the impact of the flooding. This was achieved through TraceMark™ Flow’s easy to use web dashboard, which provides a Google Map view of traffic events with informative tables and charts enabling timely access to data for making informed decisions.
TraceMark™ Flow’s capabilities can extend far beyond traffic monitoring, offering DMT resilience tools for improving preparedness, response, and future planning to mitigate the impact in the event of another natural disaster occurring in the future.
Enhancing Flood Response with TraceMark™ Flow:
● Near-Real-Time Traffic Analysis: TraceMark™ Flow leverages near-real-time traffic data from Google Maps to identify areas experiencing congestion due to a whole range of events, including flooding. This enables the DMT to issue targeted traffic advisories and divert vehicles, minimizing disruption and ensuring public safety.
● Predictive Flood Inundation Mapping: By integrating with real-time weather data and digital elevation models, TraceMark™ Flow could predict areas at risk of inundation. This allows the DMT to create dynamic flood inundation maps, informing residents and facilitating targeted evacuations.
● Resource Allocation and Optimization: TraceMark™ Flow's data visualization tools provide the DMT with a clear picture for resource deployment, including emergency vehicles, sandbags, and personnel. Real-time traffic data ensures these resources reach critical areas quickly and efficiently.
Building Long-Term Resilience:
● Predictive Maintenance: Analyzing historical traffic flow patterns during heavy rain events, TraceMark™ Flow can pinpoint areas prone to recurring congestion. This empowers the DMT to prioritize infrastructure maintenance projects like drainage system upgrades or road widening in these flood-prone zones.
● Evacuation Route Planning: Key transport corridor or Journey performance can be conducted through TraceMark™ Flow identifying optimal routes for evacuation purposes during potential flooding scenarios. This information is invaluable for the DMT to develop and disseminate evacuation plans, ensuring residents have clear paths to safety during emergencies.
● Public Awareness and Engagement: The DMT can leverage TraceMark™ Flow data to create targeted public awareness campaigns. This could involve issuing real-time traffic advisories during floods, sharing evacuation route maps with residents, and highlighting areas at risk of inundation.
Fostering a Collaborative Ecosystem:
TraceMark™ Flow's true potential lies in its ability to connect the DMT with other stakeholders. Real-time data can be shared with emergency services, public transport authorities, and utility companies. This fosters a collaborative approach to traffic monitoring and flood response, ensuring a unified effort towards public safety and minimizing disruption.
By embracing TraceMark™ Flow, the DMT enhances their proactive management of the transport network. They can build a more resilient Abu Dhabi, prepared to not only weather future storms but also emerge stronger from them. TraceMark™ Flow empowers the DMT to become a data-driven organization, using real-time information to optimize traffic flow, allocate resources effectively, and ultimately keep Abu Dhabi moving forward during challenging times.
Contact: Caroline Roach, NGIS Marketing Manager: caroline.roach@ngis.com.au