Abstract
This document describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a Smart Flood Alert System that provides real-time early warnings to people and authorities using handheld communication devices (mobile phones, feature phones). The system integrates water-level sensors, rainfall monitoring, weather-data ingestion, edge computing, and multi-channel alerting (SMS, push notifications, USSD/IVR where applicable) to deliver timely, localized flood warnings. It is intended for deployment in flood-prone urban and rural areas and emphasizes reliability, low cost, scalability, and ease of integration with existing emergency response workflows.
INTRODUCTION:
Floods are among the most frequent and devastating natural disasters, causing significant loss of life, damage to property, and disruption of communities. In many developing regions, the absence of reliable early warning systems makes communities highly vulnerable to sudden rises in water levels. Traditional flood warning methods, such as manual monitoring and centralized broadcasts, often suffer from delays, lack of accuracy, and limited reach, especially in rural or remote areas.
The Smart Flood Alert System is designed to overcome these limitations by integrating low-cost IoT sensors, GPS tracking, and real-time data communication. The system continuously monitors critical parameters such as water levels, rainfall intensity, and weather conditions, while also using GPS modules to tag sensor locations and provide precise geofencing for affected areas. This ensures that alerts are location-specific, reaching only the people who are actually at risk.
One of the key advantages of this system is its multi-channel alerting capability. Whether through push notifications, the system ensures that critical messages reach people regardless of the type of phone they use or their access to mobile data. Moreover, edge computing at the sensor node level enables local decision-making, reducing dependence on cloud servers and minimizing delays in alert delivery.
This solution is designed to be reliable, cost-effective, and scalable, making it suitable for both urban flood management and rural community protection. Furthermore, the system can be integrated into existing disaster management frameworks, enabling authorities to monitor conditions via dashboards and coordinate responses more effectively.
Ultimately, the Smart Flood Alert System aims to save lives and minimize losses by providing communities with actionable, real-time information that empowers them to act quickly in the face of flood risks.

Objectives
1. To continuously monitor water levels, rainfall, and weather conditions in flood-prone areas using low-cost IoT sensors.
2. To integrate GPS modules for precise location tracking of sensor nodes and enable geofenced, location-specific flood alerts.
3. To process data locally using edge computing, ensuring quick detection of flood risks even when internet connectivity is poor.
4. To deliver real-time early warnings via multiple communication channels such as SMS or push notifications.
5. To ensure accessibility of alerts for both smartphone users and basic feature phone users.
6. To provide authorities with a centralized dashboard for live monitoring, historical data analysis, and manual alert overrides.
7. To minimize false alarms by applying multi-sensor verification and data filtering techniques.