The Economic Times

Five major floods followed Pajaro's 1949 levee construction; a 2023 breach sent water through homes within 3 hours and costing $300 million; UC Berkeley researchers are now recreating the watershed digitally to show how new barriers could change the next flood

Flood risk is hard to picture until water is inside your home. UC Berkeley researchers are building a digital twin of Californias Lower Pajaro River Valley to change that. The virtual model can show how floodwater may move through communities, what levee upgrades could change, and where climate change may increase danger. It also brings infrastructure, ecosystems and social equity into the same flood management picture.