Due to the quick evolution of a flash flood, as also discussed under 4.CGF.12, those who operate in the field (First Responders, volunteers and other representatives from the local authorities), as well as those who coordinate the crisis management, need to have real time situational awareness and provided the applied decision support systems with automatically updated information.

This TCP4 Capability Gap Finding (CGF) relates with 4.CGF.3: Lack of Reliable and Real-Time Information on Crisis Communication).

During the response phase of a flash flood event, it is very critical to properly merge event-related information from different sources on a real time basis. This information is updated throughout the event. Thus, a need for an efficient data fusion module that will collect and properly process information from several sources, also including information from Social Media, has been identified from the invited experts in the Flash Flood workshop. The real time merging of constantly updated information from these sources can significantly support response during a flash flood.

Focusing on information derived from the Social Media, special concern needs to be given to its efficient management, which constitutes another identified gap in this category. More specifically, efficient solutions need to be developed to properly filter information provided from the general public, both in terms of quantity (since it is expected to be increased) and quality (since it could sometimes be unreliable).