Recommendations for Developing an Affordable IoT-Based Flood Monitoring and Early Warning System

Flood disaster is known to impact people and the environment substantially. People impacted by floods may lose properties and homes. Furthermore, there are also a substantial number of deaths yearly in case of a flood disaster. Malaysia has been hit by floods pretty frequently for the past few years. Government bodies and non-government organisations have collaborated to develop necessary measures to mitigate the flood disaster. Flood forecasting, warning, and zoning have been acknowledged as some of the few non-structural strategies considered crucial in flood mitigation. All these measures are vital to reduce the impact of the flood disaster on the people, eventually making them prepared to embrace any emergency. Technology is believed to play an essential role in tackling the flood issue. Several countries all across the globe have relied on the current advancements in technology to make predictions regarding flood incidents, weather forecasting and so on. Moreover, these systems give warnings and alerts to the people before a flood disaster. Therefore, utilising technology in tackling disasters like floods can reduce the severe impacts of floods in the years to come and also tends to end the loss of lives due to floods. As part of this research, the authors have first investigated the requirements and then proposed the design of a simple and easy-to-implement IoT-based flood monitoring system. Finally, a prototype is prepared to provide the proof of concept of the proposed solution.