Four teenagers, including 18-year-old MIT freshman George Cheng, have won first place and $50,000 at The Earth Prize competition for developing FloodGate, an innovative AI-powered flood forecasting system that could save lives and protect property from climate-related disasters.
The winning project addresses a critical global challenge: an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide face devastating flood risks, a threat that’s intensifying as climate change drives rising sea levels and increased precipitation. Cheng, motivated by annual hurricane flooding in his home state of North Carolina and the devastating 2023 floods affecting families in India, led his team to create a solution that makes flood risk more understandable and actionable for everyday people.
FloodGate’s innovation lies in its unique approach to visualizing flood risk. Current weather forecasts tell people how many inches of rain to expect, but fail to translate that information into practical, location-specific impacts. The team’s solution combines AI technology with real-time weather forecasts and detailed 3D mapping to predict precise flood risks for specific regions. Their prototype model constructs a 3D map of a 100-square-mile area, then uses artificial intelligence to generate visual predictions showing exactly how flooding will affect individual homes and crop fields.
“Our model kind of puts the numbers with the images. I think it’s more effective than just the numbers itself,” Cheng explained. This visual approach allows users to see the physical consequences of predicted rainfall on their specific property, making evacuation decisions clearer and more urgent.
The project defeated 979 competing entries at The Earth Prize, the world’s largest environmental competition for teens launched in 2021. Jonathan Baillie, one of the competition’s mentors and president of conservation organization Natural State, praised the project’s potential: “What it had is amazing programming, a very useful app, and fantastic broader application that could actually save lives and have a positive impact on the environment.”
Currently, FloodGate only works for US locations, but the team has ambitious expansion plans. Mentor Yeong Yoong Sze noted that global expansion will require incorporating broader datasets from regions like Africa and Southeast Asia. The team’s ultimate vision extends beyond visualization to include a built-in warning system similar to hurricane evacuation systems. Cheng plans to unveil the app by the end of 2025, using his prize money to help fund his MIT education while continuing development on this potentially life-saving technology.
Key Quotes
Our model kind of puts the numbers with the images. I think it’s more effective than just the numbers itself
George Cheng, the 18-year-old MIT freshman and team leader, explained how FloodGate’s visual approach makes flood forecasts more understandable and actionable for people at risk, addressing a critical gap in current weather forecasting systems.
What it had is amazing programming, a very useful app, and fantastic broader application that could actually save lives and have a positive impact on the environment
Jonathan Baillie, president of Natural State and one of The Earth Prize’s mentors, highlighted why FloodGate won first place among 979 competing projects, emphasizing both its technical sophistication and life-saving potential.
kind of like a hurricane evacuation system
Cheng described the team’s ultimate vision for FloodGate, which extends beyond visualization to include automated warning systems that would actively alert users when they need to evacuate, similar to existing hurricane protocols.
Our Take
FloodGate represents a compelling case study in how AI can democratize access to life-saving information. What’s particularly noteworthy is that teenagers developed a sophisticated system combining 3D mapping, machine learning, and real-time data integration—technologies that would have required significant corporate resources just a decade ago. This accessibility signals a broader shift in AI development, where impactful solutions increasingly come from unexpected sources. The project’s focus on visualization over raw data also reflects an important UX principle in AI applications: the most powerful algorithms are useless if people can’t understand or act on their outputs. As climate disasters intensify, we’ll likely see more AI-powered adaptation tools emerge, creating a new category of “climate tech AI” that prioritizes humanitarian outcomes. The challenge will be scaling these solutions globally while maintaining accuracy across diverse geographical and meteorological conditions.
Why This Matters
This story represents a significant intersection of youth innovation, AI technology, and climate adaptation that could reshape how communities prepare for natural disasters. As climate change accelerates flood risks globally, traditional forecasting methods have failed to translate technical data into actionable information for ordinary citizens. FloodGate’s AI-powered approach demonstrates how machine learning can bridge the gap between meteorological data and personal decision-making, potentially saving thousands of lives and billions in property damage.
The project highlights an emerging trend of young innovators leveraging AI to solve pressing environmental challenges, suggesting that the next generation of climate solutions will be deeply intertwined with artificial intelligence. The success of teenagers in developing sophisticated AI applications also underscores how accessible these technologies have become, democratizing innovation in ways previously impossible.
For the broader AI industry, FloodGate exemplifies practical applications of AI that deliver immediate humanitarian value, moving beyond commercial applications to address existential threats. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, AI-powered predictive systems like FloodGate could become essential infrastructure, representing a growing market for climate adaptation technology that combines computer vision, machine learning, and real-time data processing.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-win-50000-earth-prize-flood-forecasting-model-2024-8