As floods and hail storms become more frequent and severe, an Austrian government website lets citizens simulate the likelihood of extreme weather damage to their own homes. 

A number of European countries and regions have now launched similar platforms.

"You can really see the height of the water at a specific building," Gerd Hesina, CEO of Vienna Research Center for Visual Computing (VRVis) is Austria's largest research center in the area of visual computing. 

VRVis has been working on 3D software for 15 years. 

With the help of hydrologists, Gerd Hesina and his team combined numerous measurements including precipitation, soil infiltration and riverbed types.

Citizens and governments "can make different scenarios," Hesina explains. "They can simulate heavy rain scenarios, they can simulate severe flooding of rivers, they can simulate hail."

But hail damage varies depending on the surface it strikes. To recreate the actual roof characteristics of each building, the team used artificial intelligence to extensively analyze satellite images.

Soaked walls, broken plaster

"If I'd known the risk, I wouldn't have chosen to live here," said flood victim Grga Dzijan, inspecting the damage Vienna's 2024 flood event has left behind. 

The 40-year-old caretaker was not aware of the danger posed by the river next to his building.

"The water rose to the seventh or eighth step of the staircase," he added.

Two years ago, this part of Vienna was left under water after record rainfall resulted in one of the worst floods in recent history. With the help of simulation software, the city has now increased the height of walls and other barrier measures to withstand even greater floods in the future.

Since the launch of the Austrian software, the visual computing company has created similar models for other countries in Europe, and even a test model for the Chinese city of Shenzhen. 

Now the company is working on its next software which is set to combine both water and heat simulation. Given the increased frequency of droughts, it is likely to attract attention across the globe.