Meta launches AI tools to help Houston families prepare for hurricanes, offering real-time storm tracking and evacuation guidance.<\/p>\n
HOUSTON \u2014 Houstonians know all too well how quickly a storm can upend lives. Eight years after Hurricane Harvey devastated the region, storm prep remains top of mind.<\/p>\n
Now, Meta is introducing a new suite of AI-powered tools designed to help families prepare, stay safe, and recover when the next hurricane strikes.<\/p>\n
Meta\u2019s Director of AI for Good, Laura McGorman, said the company has been working closely with researchers at Texas A&M to build artificial intelligence models that use social media data to better predict and respond to natural disasters.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost recently, they\u2019ve built a tool for first responders right here in Harris County for improved situational awareness using AI based on data from previous Texas disasters,\u201d McGorman said.<\/p>\n
Meta\u2019s AI, powered by its Llama model, can:<\/p>\n
Generate hurricane supply lists and preparation tipsGuide users through evacuation routesTrack storms in real-timeProvide hyperlocal insights using data gathered from past Texas disasters <\/p>\n
Meta previewed the tools for first responders at a workshop in Harris County in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the next step is really getting them in the market so they can be used at scale, not only for future flooding events, but for things like wildfires, hurricanes, and even earthquakes across the United States. I was just in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, training first responders to prep for natural disaster response in the context of the upcoming World Cup games,\u201d McGorman said.<\/p>\n
On Meta\u2019s platforms, users also have access to real-time resources, including:<\/p>\n
Facebook Safety Check to let friends and family know they are safeLocal Alerts with evacuation orders, road closures, and urgent warnings pushed directly to their phoneCommunity groups that connect neighbors before, during, and after a storm <\/p>\n
\u201cBy making these tools free and open source, we hope the research community in partnership with local government, can move and make sure that we leverage the best that technology has to offer in the context of a crisis,\u201d McGorman said.<\/p>\n
With peak hurricane season underway, experts say now is the time to prepare. One step you can take immediately is to follow your local emergency agencies on social media, so life-saving alerts reach you the moment they\u2019re issued.<\/p>\n
Got a news tip or story idea? Text it to us at 713-526-1111.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meta launches AI tools to help Houston families prepare for hurricanes, offering real-time storm tracking and evacuation guidance.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,181,507,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-112326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}