Online game about flooding
AN ACADEMIC from Loughborough hopes the online game they have developed will help save lives by teaching children how to identify early warnings of coastal flooding.
Dr Emiliano Renzi, of the School of Science, has launched ‘Storm Force’ – a free, online, educational game, primarily for children aged 12 and above, which builds on half-a-decade of research.
In Europe, storms are the main reason for flooding at the coast, especially if they arrive at high tide.
The larger-than-usual sea levels that storms create – called ‘storm surges’ – can be several metres taller than ordinary waves, meaning they can crash over sea walls and defences.
Coastal flooding can cause extreme damage and also result in deaths.
Dr Renzi is a lecturer in applied mathematics at Loughborough University and he has been conducting research into coastal flooding for the past five years.
He is currently studying meteorological tsunamis as part of a project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Storm Force builds on Dr Renzi’s research and looks to increase public awareness of risks in coastal areas.
Players take the role of an up-andcoming cadet with the fictional Storm Force – an organisation dedicated to researching storm surges to better prepare at-risk locations.
Each level, the players must battle against the clock to evacuate citizens from the waterfront whilst also collecting supplies and valuable data.
The main objective of Dr Renzi’s research is to improve the capability of predicting coastal flooding by using such signals.
They travel much faster than storm surges so detecting and understanding them can provide more time to make necessary preparations and even evacuate communities.
Dr Renzi says playing Storm Force can be beneficial to children and adults – even those that live in land-locked locations.
He said: “Being able to spot the early warnings of coastal flooding is very useful, especially if you live by or go on holiday near the coast.
“By playing the game, players will be able to identify the mechanisms that create a storm surge and the risks associated with it.”