A flood warning system developed by the UK government delivered warnings of floods that failed to materialise, and warnings that came after people's homes were already flooded.

Unlike manual warnings, which are typically offered in advance by analysing digital monitoring data alongside weather forecasts, the UK Environment Agency's AI-powered automated system only issues warnings when a river reaches a certain level. 

The automated alerts have far less detail than those offered by flood forecasters, according to The Guardian, and therefore tend to be much less accurate and reliable.

The system was trialed in December 2022 as a stopgap during a period of industrial action by Environment Agency officers, and continued thereafter.