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An East Tennessee State University researcher is developing a cutting-edge dashboard using generative artificial intelligence to assist in monitoring flooding in Central Appalachia. 

The pilot project, titled “Leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Automated Climate Resilience Dashboards: A Case Study on Flood Monitoring in Central Appalachia,” has recently secured $20,000 in funding from the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Lab. 

Dr. Qian Huang from ETSU’s Center for Rural Health and Research, in collaboration with Dr. Tao Hu from Oklahoma State University, is proposing a two-pronged approach to create these flood dashboards for Appalachian communities: 

1. Data Enhancement and Automation: Leveraging generative AI to optimize the collection, processing and integration of various data sources, thereby automating the dashboard interface. 
2. Community Engagement: Conducting a Community Engagement Studio to ensure the dashboard’s user-friendliness and replicability. 

In September, Hurricane Helene caused devastating flooding in Central Appalachia, dumping enormous amounts of rain in mountain communities across Northeast Tennessee, Western North Carolina and Southwest Virginia. 

More than 200 people died across the Southeast, and thousands were left without power, clean water or communication. A number of roads and bridges were destroyed as well, isolating communities and leaving the region staring at a long road to recovery.  

Traditional dashboards often rely on professional expertise and time-consuming human analysis, creating a bottleneck. Generative AI offers a potential solution to expedite and automate these processes, ultimately improving awareness and preparedness. 

“Our team is eager to conduct this project and contribute to enhancing hazard awareness and preparedness in Appalachia,” said Huang, a research assistant professor in the ETSU College of Public Health. “My hope is that our efforts will guide future preparedness, responses, recovery and mitigation work to natural hazards, fostering more resilient communities.” 

The 10-month project will create a state-of-the-art flood monitoring dashboard for Central Appalachia (comprised of 82 counties in Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee) to test its reusability and replicability. The dashboard will display historical flooding events, flood predictions, demographic data (population, race and ethnicity), social determinants of health and access to health care. 

Huang hopes to eventually expand the project to include 169 counties in those states, as well as Western North Carolina.  

This innovative project has the potential to significantly enhance flood preparedness and response efforts in Central Appalachia, providing communities with the information and tools they need to build resilience in the face of climate change. 

“Recent events have forcefully, and painfully reminded us of the devastating impacts of flooding in rural regions, including Appalachia,” said Dr. Randy Wykoff, dean of the ETSU College of Public Health. “I am pleased that Dr. Qian Huang is using her expertise to develop this dashboard.”