After catastrophic flooding claimed more than 130 lives in Central Texas in July 2025, Rice University and the University of Texas at Arlington are partnering to develop a real-time flood warning system aimed at preventing future loss of life.
The Texas governor’s office awarded $4 million to UT Arlington to lead the effort, with Rice participating as a subawardee.
Through UT Arlington’s Water Engineering Research Center (WERC), director Nick Fang will lead the deployment of a high-resolution, Texas-focused weather monitoring and modeling network designed to deliver faster, more precise flood warnings across the Texas Hill Country. The system is expected to give residents and emergency managers critical lead time as conditions rapidly evolve.
To help develop the system, Fang’s team will collaborate with Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center. Working alongside SSPEED director Philip Bedient, the partnership combines expertise in storm prediction, flood modeling and emergency response planning.
“Early warning doesn’t start with a siren — it starts with science,” Bedient said. “By combining radar rainfall, stream measurements and predictive modeling, we can forecast how deep the water will be and where it will go, giving communities the lead time they need to make lifesaving decisions.”
“This investment allows us to move from research to real-time action,” said Fang, who earned his doctoral degree in civil and environmental engineering from Rice. “By combining advanced forecasting, high-resolution weather monitoring and proven flood modeling techniques, we can provide communities with faster, more accurate warnings that help protect lives and property.”
WERC and the SSPEED Center have advanced storm surge and flood modeling in Houston and along the Gulf Coast for decades. Together, they will help develop the computer modeling system and comprehensive floodplain map library that underpin the operational warning platform for the Hill Country.
While flood warnings are often associated with sirens or text alerts, the new system begins much earlier, using radar-derived rainfall data fed into advanced hydrologic and hydraulic models to forecast flood water depths at specific locations. The system delivers actionable predictions to emergency officials before waters reach critical thresholds.
The approach builds on more than 20 years of experience protecting high-risk areas such as Houston’s Texas Medical Center, where SSPEED’s radar-based Flood Information and Response System (FIRST) provides real-time flood mapping for hospitals and other essential facilities. In the Hill Country, WERC will oversee the development of the new early warning system that integrates with radar data and stream gauge information in a real-time framework supported by SSPEED, improving accuracy during fast-moving storm events.
The project will also strengthen collaboration among state agencies, regional water authorities and local communities — a critical step in ensuring that the technology translates into coordinated, lifesaving emergency response strategies. In addition to deploying equipment, researchers will work with stakeholders to refine communication protocols so warnings are clear, accessible and easy to act on.
“This is about giving communities the tools they need to stay ahead of the next storm,” Fang said. “With the right science and the right partnerships, we can make Texas more resilient.”