MADRID, March 3 (Reuters) - Tech giant Amazon ( AMZN )

on Monday said it will use artificial intelligence to reduce

flood risks in Spain's northeastern region of Aragon where it is

building data centres.

Amazon's ( AMZN ) cloud computing unit AWS announced in May it would

invest 15.7 billion euros ($17.02 billion) in data centres in

Aragon to significantly expand its cloud infrastructure.

AWS said on Monday it planned to spend 17.2 million euros

($17.9 million) to reduce flood risks in the region by

modernising infrastructure and using AI to optimise agricultural

water use.

The investment comes four months after catastrophic floods

devastated large areas around Spain's third-biggest city,

Valencia.

Spain's highest-flow river, the Ebro, crosses Aragon on its

way to its Mediterranean delta in Catalonia and the region is

prone to flooding.

Amazon ( AMZN ) will use advanced cloud computing technologies to

deploy an early warning system that combines real-time data

collection with advanced sensor networks and AI-powered analysis

to help Aragon's capital city Zaragoza monitor flood risks.

The platform will monitor weather conditions and water flow

to provide emergency services with advanced warnings of floods.

Zaragoza's local authorities are building flood defences at

the Barranco de la Muerte or Death Ravine, after floods in 2023.

($1 = 0.9615 euros)

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo

Editing by Ros Russell)