Fathom-Global

A step-change in
your ability to understand global
flood risk.

By coupling the latest topography and hydrography datasets with cutting-edge hydraulic modelling techniques, Fathom have produced truly world-leading flood data for the whole planet. All methods have been published in the most pre-eminent scientific journals, representing a step change in our ability to understand flooding at the global scale.

Fathom-Global simulates inundation across all rivers in the world using a 2D hydraulic modelling framework. The most important component of any global flood model is the terrain data.

In earlier versions of Fathom’s Global data, errors in the underlying terrain elevation data could be seen. These errors, which can be seen in the form of stripes in the Mekong Delta (below), make it very difficult to build accurate flood models.

Fathom’s latest Global data use MERIT-DEM and MERIT-Hydro, the best terrain and hydrography data currently available globally. These data provide the most accurate view of the Earth’s surface elevation and the location of all rivers. These two components are crucial in building robust flood models.

By integrating these datasets into Fathom’s hydraulic modelling framework, Fathom-Global yields flood hazard maps of multiple return periods for every river on the planet.