Amazon is implementing an artificial intelligence (AI) scheme to mitigate the risk of flooding in the Aragon region of northeastern Spain, the company announced on Monday. This initiative is part of Amazon’s ongoing investment in the region, where it is constructing new data centers.
AWS, Amazon’s cloud computing division, revealed its plans to invest €17.2 million (approximately $17.9 million) in flood risk reduction. This investment follows an earlier announcement in May, which detailed a €15.7 billion ($17.02 billion) commitment to expand cloud infrastructure in Aragon.
The project aims to protect the region, which is crossed by the Ebro, Spain’s highest-flow river, and is thus prone to flooding. The plan includes modernizing existing infrastructure as well as utilizing AI to optimize agricultural water usage, which can impact flood severity.
This initiative is particularly relevant given the catastrophic floods that affected regions near Valencia just four months prior. Amazon will leverage advanced cloud computing technologies to deploy an early warning system. This system will integrate real-time data collection with sophisticated sensor networks and AI-powered analysis to help Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, monitor flood risks.
The new platform is designed to monitor weather conditions and water flow, enabling emergency services to receive advanced warnings of potential floods. Local authorities in Zaragoza are currently constructing flood defenses in the Barranco de la Muerte, or Death Ravine, following severe floods in 2023.
