Wireless sensor networks for flash-flood alerting

This article presents the ongoing effort in providing the population of the Andean region of Venezuela with a flash-flood alerting system by making use of state-of-the-art wireless communications and information technologies. A key component of the project is a wireless sensor network (WSN) that is used for monitoring the environment and tracking the disaster while it evolves. Currently, the project is at its conceptual inception and system-level design is being carried out. Major design constraints and solutions are presented with an emphasis on the monitoring system based on the WSN.