Ambiental is a specialist in flood modelling and flood risk assessment. They have offices in the UK, Australia and Singapore and work with clients ranging from the World Bank to reinsurers, insurance brokers, multinational businesses, planners and individual home owners. In the last two decades they have successfully undertaken flood risk projects in Europe, Australasia, Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia.

At the heart of their success in predicting flood risk more accurately is the quality of their source data and their proven flood modelling software, Flowroute-i™. It was originally developed in close collaboration with scientists at Cambridge University, and provides uniquely detailed and informative visual outputs as well as accurate flood forecasts that can be delivered in a format that suits the client.

As a highly specialised team they are able to help with both rapid assessments and in-depth research that supports decision-making around flood risk. Their flexible, robust flood modelling software means they can develop and customise models relatively quickly, and use them to answer specific questions, helping their clients be far more agile and responsive. They help to improve their clients’ confidence in their decision-making.

As a company they are committed to continually developing and improving their methods and technologies. To support this they undertake ongoing research and development, and maintain close links with academia and regulatory policymakers.

What they do:

Reducing the risk and impact of flooding

They give people the insight they need to make better decisions about flooding around the world. By providing expert advice and tools for flood risk assessment and flood risk management, they aim to prevent loss and protect lives, property and assets.

They help their clients by:

• -Assessing the likely location and depth of flooding from rivers, the sea, dam breaks and surface water
• -Assessing the probabilities and potential costs of flooding
• -Providing strategic advice and guidance on reducing flood risk and planning flood response strategies
• -Gathering the highest quality data to generate precise flood maps and flood risk data sets
• -Conducting technical research and feasibility studies around flood risk.

The risk of flooding at a particular location is controlled by a number of factors, including topography, hydrology, soil types, existing flood defences and the type of development in a catchment area.

Understanding the interaction of these factors is complex, and requires engineering and mathematical knowledge, and expertise in geomorphology, climatology and computer programming. They have combined these to develop industry-leading technology that makes it possible for them to predict flood risk with a very high degree of accuracy.