Advances in open source hydroinformatics for flood modeling and disaster education

Abstract

These almost 4 years have made me face so many varied, complex, and challenging things that I never thought I would be able to face. The pursuit of a doctorate degree made me a better person, not only through the knowledge that I received but also by the life lessons that this journey taught me. By constantly looking for new challenges, methods, visualization tools or even trying to solve sometimes never solved problems, I think my life will never be the same. The concept of what is something difficult has changed. Pursuing a Ph.D. helped me pursue a better life filled with desire, joy, and willingness to become a better person.There must be someone somewhere who gave me the strength and put me in the right place and at the right time multiple times. I thank God for that. If you asked me by the time I finished my undergraduate that I would be able to have a Master's degree and eventually two Ph.D.s, I would say that it was impossible. For God, nothing is impossible if you believe in him and have an open mind enough to face the unknown path under his guidance, even if you are scared.Several important people gave me the tools, strength, and support to cope with such difficult times, especially during the 2020-2022 pandemic. I would like to give a more than special thanks to all the support given by Eudiana Sousa, whom I personally admire and think was fundamental. I have learned a lot from you. I would also like to thank my parents, Edeliar T. Saraiva, and Marcus N. Gomes, my brother Eduardo. T. N. Gomes, and my sister, Ana C. Gomes. Without your support, I would not have been able to.Without agency funding, this research would be impossible. I greatly appreciate the support received from CNPQ, CAPES, FAPESP, and the San Antonio River Authority to partially fund my research. It is relatively unfair to only thank a couple of friends and colleagues who helped me.Therefore, I thank all PPGSHS and CPG, especially Sá, Rose, Tatiana, and César. I also thank the Wadi Lab, and all friends and colleagues that helped during this process. I had excellent talks with professors from USP and UTSA, also during conferences at AGU, EWRI, and SBRH, or even talks during short courses with outstanding professors that inspired me to believe that we can develop highlevel technology in Brazil. However, I need to be specific with some estimated friends and colleagues.My gratitude is infinite toward my supervisors, Dr. Eduardo M. Mendiondo from USP and Dr. Marcio H. Giacomoni from UTSA. Mario always believed in me without any proof at first. He simply gambled in my potential and showed me that somehow he knew more about me than I at the beginning of my academic career. Sometimes we just need someone to push us forward, someone who trusts us and gives us confidence to try to perform our best work. Besides the academia, Mario is a friend, someone that I have the pleasure to say that I can count on not only for my formal education, but also for life in general. Thank you, Mario.Another absolutely great example of guidance and supervision is w...