Modular early warning and monitoring system focused on extreme weather events

Abstract

Context: Extreme weather events, such as floods, have become frequent, causing significant socioeconomic and environmental impacts. The objective of this work is to present the planning and development of a low-cost, open-source, and modular Early Warning System (EWS), initially focused on flood monitoring in urban areas with the capacity to adapt to the measurement of other variables useful in risk analysis for the population, such as measuring the surface temperature of rivers to control Haff disease. The methodology includes researching low-power technologies, such as microcontrollers with hibernation mode support, ultrasonic and Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors, and LoRaWAN radio technologies for long-range transmission. The system will be composed of monitoring stations that collect data on the water level and transmit it to an internet-connected gateway, which sends it to a database. A web interface will allow data visualization and real-time alert sending. Considerations: The project aims to contribute to flood risk management and critical events, assisting in decision-making and loss prevention. Making the open-source code available will allow other researchers and developers to contribute to the improvement of the technology and adaptation to different scenarios.