Supplementary Information Files for The utility of Google Trends as a tool for evaluating flooding in data‐scarce places

Supplementary Information Files for The utility of Google Trends as a tool for evaluating flooding in data‐scarce placesGoogle Trends (GT) offers an historical database of global internet searches with the potential to compliment conventional records of environmental hazards, especially in regions where formal hydrometeorological data are scarce. We evaluate the extent to which GT can discern heavy rainfall and floods in Kenya and Uganda during the period 2014 to 2018. We triangulate counts of flood searches from GT with available rainfall records and media reports to build an inventory of extreme events. The Spearman rank correlation (rho) between monthly mean search interest for flooding and monthly Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) rainfall totals was rho = +0.38 (p