Fathom and World Bank collaborate to enhance flood resilience in 16 climate vulnerable countries with free data access

Global flood risk intelligence leader Fathom will offer its flood data for non-commercial use, free of charge, to 16 countries under a new agreement with the World Bank. These countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change, such as Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen, which often struggle with limited data resources.

The agreement is a component of the World Bank’s license of Fathom’s Global Flood Map, primarily funded by the Bank-managed Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the Global Shield Financing Facility.

This strategic collaboration represents a significant step forward in increasing data accessibility for all countries involved, some of which are in fragile and conflict-affected situations. It sets a precedent in the data industry, emphasizing the vital importance of making data readily available. This initiative aligns with the World Bank’s growing focus on utilizing data and knowledge to benefit broader communities.

The data from Fathom’s Global Flood Map includes both inland (rainfall and river) and coastal flood risk data for the current climate, in addition to intelligence for a number of climate change scenarios: SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5. To assist with future-proofing, users will be able to analyze the flood risk for each climate change scenario at different time horizons, with forecasting data for the years 2030, 2050 and 2080 also included in the offering.

Countries eligible for free flood risk data

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Central African Republic

Chad

Democratic Republic of Congo

Djibouti

Honduras

Madagascar

Federal State of Micronesia

Mozambique

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Somalia

South Sudan

Timor-Leste

Republic of Yemen

Stuart Whitfield, CEO at Fathom, said: “Awareness is pivotal for managing and mitigating the devastating effects of flooding. We’re incredibly proud to be offering insights into flood risk not previously available for these data scarce countries, to help support future planning and resilience to water risk.”

Public sector stakeholders will be able to access the data by applying to Fathom.

The high-resolution data is underpinned by FABDEM; which has been academically validated as the most accurate global map of the Earth’s terrain. An update to the data was released in September 2023, with FABDEM+, which includes the latest localized terrain data from thousands of different sources to create the best available elevation information for every location in the world.