https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/9/16280250/mit-urban-risk-lab-riskmap-hurricane-irma-real-time-crowdsource-flood-reporting

As Hurricane Irma bears down on the Florida peninsula this weekend, MIT’s Urban Risk Lab has launched RiskMap.us, an open-source platform that will track flooding in southern Florida. The project is being piloted to provide updates in real time to citizens and emergency planners, and allows for people to submit reports via Twitter, Facebook, or Telegram.

The system uses a chatbot that users can message directly through any of the three social media sites, which sends users a link that will allow them to upload their location, the depth of the water, a description, and a picture, which is then displayed on a map. Users can then share their report on social media.