War Room, made easier

Choose a place. Choose a question. Read the explanation.

War Room is a map with published information about places, dams, terrain and past hazards. You can use Simple view without knowing specialist terms. The original interface is available under All tools.

The easiest way to start

Open Watchtower and choose War Room.
Choose Check a place.
Type a town or city name, choose the right result, and select Show me the records.

You can also choose a point directly on the map. A town marker is a general reference, so use the map if you need a more exact point.

Full screen gives you more room. Close full screen brings you back. Your current form stays in the same page.

Check a place

Choose the place. Search for a name, use the map centre, or tap the map.
Choose the area and years. “Within 25 km” means the tool searches around your selected point. It does not describe the reach of a hazard.
Read the summary. It shows past records, missing information, nearby dam references and an approximate ground height.

What the results mean

Records found nearby: one or more records matched your area and years.
No matches in these records: nothing matched the particular sources and settings.
We do not have enough data: that topic remains unknown.
Partial results: the search reached a limit. A smaller area may help.

An empty map or no matching records does not mean a place is safe. Sources cover different places and years, and different sources may describe the same event.

Use Download this summary for a readable text file. Check another place and choose Compare places to compare what the records show. There is no “safest place” ranking.

Find a dam and understand its figures

Choose Find a dam, type its name and choose the correct country and location.
Read the published facts. Missing figures are shown as unavailable.
Choose Try a simple water example if you want to explore an amount, a percentage and a duration.

You must choose a reported amount or enter your own. For example, 25% means one quarter. The result explains the total water amount and the average rate under your assumptions.

A reported reservoir capacity is not the amount of water in it today. The calculation does not predict a dam failure, draw a flood map, or tell you when water would arrive.

Other dam lists offers additional coverage. They use different identifiers, dates and definitions. The GDW viewer extract has important differences from the full scientific archive, so it remains separately labelled. Source details are available when you need them.

Explore the map

Move: drag the map with your mouse or finger.
Zoom: use + and −, your scroll wheel, or a pinch gesture.
Read a feature: click a dam or terrain symbol.
Put a card away: choose Show map. The Back button on the map returns to that card.
Cancel choosing a point: use Cancel choosing a point or press Escape.

Past events

Choose a type of record and a time period, then show it on the map. Dots are reported locations; lines may connect storm observations. These are past records, not current warnings or full impact areas.

Hills and ground height

Show named hills, passes or connections, or choose a point to estimate its ground height. A terrain estimate does not measure buildings or establish whether you can access a place.

Check a radio path

Open More guided tools → Check a radio path.

Choose point A and point B. The tool supports points between 20 metres and 50 kilometres apart.
Enter the frequency from your radio’s specifications, in MHz.
Enter the height of each antenna above the ground, then run the check.

The result explains whether the sampled terrain meets your selected settings. It may suggest antenna heights under the model’s assumptions.

This is a terrain-only check. Trees, buildings, radio power, interference, permissions and a complete radio link budget are not assessed. It does not guarantee reception.

The guided settings use the existing model’s 60% Fresnel clearance, 5-metre extra margin, 4/3 effective Earth-radius assumption and 150-metre height-search limit. All tools provides the full settings and chart.

Try a water-on-terrain example

This is an optional what-if drawing. It needs assumptions from you.

Choose A at the downstream base of the dam. A catalogue marker may not be the real base.
Choose B farther down the river.
Choose the width of the study area and the assumed water rise at A and B. A volume limit is optional.
Run the example and read the explanation of the coloured areas.

Blue is the lower example. Amber adds the middle example. Rose adds the higher example. Grey means unknown terrain.

This is not a moving-water or dam-break flood forecast. Missing terrain and the edges of your study limit the drawing. Unshaded places are not established safe. Arrival times, water speeds and evacuation routes are not calculated.

A small dictionary

Capacity: A reported storage amount. Its definition and date depend on the source.
Cubic metre, or m³: A unit of volume equal to 1,000 litres. One million cubic metres equals one billion litres.
Elevation: Estimated ground height relative to a reference sea level.
Radius: The distance around the point you chose.
Source: The organisation or dataset that supplied a record.
Scenario: A made-up “what if” using chosen assumptions, rather than a prediction.
DEM: A digital map of ground heights.

What is saved?

Guided selections stay in your current page session. Download a summary to keep a copy. Your original investigations and saved-view tools remain under All tools. Switching account or replay/verification context clears guided session data.

The display preference—Simple view or All tools—is remembered for the current account in this browser. It does not store your selected places or calculation inputs.

Detailed sources, coverage and methods · Terrain and radio calculation methods