Environmental systems

Flood risk is a system, not a single number.

This prototype uses a simplified river model to explore rainfall, storage, release decisions and channel capacity. It is not intended to be a professional flood model; it is a way to make the mathematics of systems, thresholds and trade-offs visible.

Change the parameters, run the simulation and ask what moved, what overflowed, and which assumptions matter.

Interactive prototype

Explore how rainfall, storage and capacity affect flood risk

This simplified river model tracks a rainfall pulse moving downstream. Adjust reservoir release and channel capacity to see how local decisions can shift flood risk through the system.

Time

0 / 24

Rainfall

30.5

Reservoir

43 / 120

Risk

Flooding likely

Controls

Scenario

Base rainfall: 28

Storm intensity: 58

Reservoir release: 34

Channel capacity boost: 0

Storm pulse

A short burst of heavy rain creates a pulse moving downstream through the catchment.

Flooded reaches: upland

What this shows

Water is stored, released and passed downstream. The timing of a decision matters, not just the total amount of water.

Flood risk appears when flow is greater than channel capacity. Increasing capacity can help, but it may not remove risk everywhere.

The model is deliberately simplified so learners can see the assumptions, change them and discuss their consequences.

Guided tasks

Find settings that flood the village but not the floodplain.

Reduce reservoir release before the storm. What improves, and what gets worse?

Increase channel capacity. Does the peak risk disappear or move?

Joy in the process

The point is not just to finish. It is to notice, test and return.

These tools are invitations to explore. A good mistake, a surprising pattern or a question you cannot yet answer is part of the work, not a failure of it.

The challenge is deliberate: the site should support thinking, not remove the need for it.

Before changing a setting, pause and predict what you think will happen.

Change one thing at a time. What stayed the same, and what changed?

Try to create a surprising case, a broken case, or a beautiful pattern.

Ask what this connects to outside the page: maps, movement, nature, systems or decisions.

Reset, then try again with a new question in mind.

Guided exploration

Use the model to reason about decisions and consequences.

Predict which river reach will flood first before running the model.

Change reservoir release and explain how the risk changes downstream.

Increase channel capacity and decide whether this is enough to manage the storm.

Compare a steady rainfall event with a short storm pulse.

Future extensions

Add a network version where rivers join at confluences.

Add land-use controls for urbanisation, woodland and drainage.

Add pollution transport alongside water flow.

Add teacher mode with printable investigation prompts.