Scientists at Cemagref, the French research institute of science and technology for the environment designed the Government Resource Planning (GRP) software for SCHAPI, France's National Hydrometeorological and Flood Forecasting Centres, in order to forecast river flooding and warn authorities and the public about potential floods, giving vulnerable zones the crucial time they need to protect themselves.

Researchers at Cemagref, the French research institute of science and technology for the environment, have succeeded in developing the Government Resource Planning (GRP) software for SCHAPI, designed to forecast river flooding. The research institute, together with Meteo-France, also developed the AIGA (Geographic-information processing for flood alerts) system, which uses data provided by meteorological radars to calculate in real time the risks that emerge from rainfall and river flow rates over the French hydrographic network.

These two projects will help at keeping people safe from floods. For instance, with the AIGA system, experts can identify unsafe conditions by evaluating real-time data with information from reference databases on rainfall and flow rates. Risk maps are generated every 15 minutes with a resolution down to a square kilometre, according to the researchers. The Flood Forecasting agencies also use operational maps developed by AIGA, specifically targeting the Mediterranean coast.

Furthermore, the existing meteorological radar network found in low-lying regions, does not have the capacity to cover the mountain regions very well, where there is risk of torrential flooding, landslides and even avalanches during the winter period. Under the RHYTMME ('Hydrometeorological risks in mountain and Mediterranean regions') project a network of small, new generation radars. The project, with a budget of about €10.4 million is funded mainly by Cemagref and Meteo-France, supported by the European Union with €2 million.