U HYDRODETECTOR : FLOOD MONITORING SYSTEM UTILIZING

INTERNET OF THINGS TECHNOLOGY

Prithika a/p Partheeban, Prameka a/p Colin, Kaarunyah Senthil Mohan,Deshna a/p Kaviarasan,
Rania Hannah Binti Azuan

SMK (P) Sultan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru, Johor. Malaysia1,2,3

Abstract

Flooding is one of the major disasters occurring in various parts of the world including Malaysia. To reduce the
effect of the disaster, a flood warning and monitoring are needed to give an early warning to the victims at a
particular place with high prone to flood. This product can also be used to overcome dengue cases. By
implementing the Internet of Thing technology into the system, it could help the victim to get an accurate status
of flood in real-time condition. This paper develops a real-time flood monitoring and early warning system
using wireless sensor node at a high prone area of flood. This system is based on NodeMCU based
technology integrated using Blynk application. The wireless sensor node can help the victims by detecting the
water levels and rain intensity while giving an early warning when a flood or heavy rain occurs. The sensor
node consists of ultrasonic sensors and rain sensor controlled by NodeMCU as the microcontroller of the
system which placed at the identified flood area. Buzzer and LED started to trigger and alert the victim when
the flood had reached a certain level of hazard. Data detected from the sensors are sent to the Blynk
application via wireless connection. The victim will get to know the current status of flood and rain by viewing
the interface and receiving a push notification that available in Blynk application via IOS or Android
smartphones. The flood level’s data could help various organizations for further improvement of the system
and flood forecasting purposes. As a test result had been conducted, it founds that this prototype can monitor,
detect and give a warning with notification to the victim earlier before the occurrence of floods.

Keywords:

Flood Monitoring, Early Warning System, Internet of Things, Disaster Risk Reduction, dengue

1. Introduction

Floods have been Malaysia's most frequent natural disaster, accounting for 85 percent of all natural
disasters since 2000. Malaysia has one of the world's highest levels of exposure to flood-related disasters,
ranking 12th in the world in terms of the frequency of events but 78th in terms of the average annual
damage. Floods are among the most common and damaging disaster types in the world and affect the lives of
millions of people worldwide annually. Floods and excessive rainfall are inevitable phenomena that can lead to
massive loss of lives and infrastructure destruction. In Malaysia, flash flooding is a regular natural disaster that
occurs during the monsoon season almost every year.

The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), Malaysia has categorized floods into two categories that are
flash floods and monsoon floods. The difference between flash floods and monsoon floods were based on the
time taken by the flow of the river to return to its normal position. Flash floods suddenly occur without a
warning that surprises people in their everyday lives. Monsoon floods caused by the winds of the Northeast
Monsoon occur between the months from November to March and the winds of the Southwest Monsoon from
May to September. The floods in December 2006 and January 2007 are also classified as the most damaging
flood in Malaysia's history. The water level recorded during the floods reached 2,75 meters, the highest level
since 1950. The mortality rate was 18, with more than 100,000 people evacuated during the disaster. Many
factors that might be taken from the above cases, such as problems with drainage systems, dam breaks,
urbanization and environmental management, weather and pollution, but the one that will be highlighted in this
paper is the problem of the early flood monitoring system. The cost of flood damage is closely related to the
warning time given before the occurrence of flood and this makes flood monitoring critical in reducing the cost
of damages. Based on Sukeri Khalid et al, most of the people are agreed that the early warning system at
Sultan Abu Bakar dam are not working in a good condition which caused a flash flood and about four people
die and other property damages. Hence, this shows that early flood monitoring is very important in Malaysia to
avoid more victims and flood damages to occur.

Based on Mary Anne M. Sahagun et al, the importance of further studies in determining the water level in
high-risk areas is consistent to warn the public about the potential rise in flood water level. In Malaysia, most
flood cases rise more quickly and people have less time to evacuate and save their life and belongings. This is
because some early flood alert systems are usually intended for the respective organizations and authorities.
When a flooding scenario occurs at a certain location, it will take time for them to reach as water rises rapidly.
At the peak of the flood, there will be flooding in residential areas, public buildings and bridges that cause
immed iate damage. Lots of flood risk technologies have been developed over the last few decades to minimize
the risk of flooding in inhabited areas. The Philippine government has now funded the Science and
Technology Department's (DOST) NOAH project. Automated Rain Gauges (ARG) and Water Level Monitoring
Stations (WLMS) were installed along the main river basins (RBs) of the country. However, the NOAH project is
still under development where some important information is not yet available on its website. This is a huge
project that costly and needs a big spent of money for the maintenance and other work related to it. When a
flooding scenario occurs at a certain location, it will take time for them to reach as water rises rapidly. At the
peak of the flood, there will be flooding in residential areas, public buildings and bridges that cause immed
iate damage. Lots of flood risk technologies have been developed over the last few decades to minimize the
risk of flooding in inhabited areas.

The Philippine government has now funded the Science and Technology Department's (DOST) NOAH project.
Automated Rain Gauges (ARG) and Water Level Monitoring Stations (WLMS) were installed along the main
river basins (RBs) of the country. However, the NOAH project is still under development where some important
information is not yet available on its website. This is a huge project that costly and needs a big spent of
money for the maintenance and other work related to it. The technology used to detect floods is now more
accurate than the devices of the last decades. Unfortunately, an early warning system still showing some lacks
of significant and difficult to alert all the people in the area . Therefore, multiple of factors that need to be
considered to develop a wireless sensor node system in order to avoid any failure occurred. The system
should be low-cost, multifunctional, low-power and wireless sensor nodes of small size that work together to
sense the environment, process the data and communicate wirelessly over a short distance. Sensor is a
device that measures and converts a physical quantity into a signal that an observer or an instrument can
read. Usually the sensors are used to monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as sound, pressure,
pollutants, water level or motion at areas of interest. Accurate data from the sensors are important for many
kinds of purposes including forecasting on flood event and for the future improvement of the system.

According to the World Health Organisation [WHO] the cumulative number of reported dengue cases in
Malaysia as of 2 March 2019 was 26,545 cases.This is 157% higher compared to 10,343 cases reported
during the same period in 2018.

Study about Internet of Things (IoT) technology has gain popularity and becoming important for solving more
problem in various disciplines, for example water monitoring system flood monitoring and weather station
Application. Elias S. Manolakos et al had proposed a study on wireless sensor network application to detect
hazard. The purpose of the study is to monitor and report the environmental status by physical parameters
such as the temperature at a rate that can be adapted to current conditions so as not to waste energy
and bandwidth. Thinagaran Perumal et Al had proposed a study on the Internet of Things for water
monitoring system. In their project, they detect on desired parameters by using water level sensor. Besides, a
cloud server is used to display the result in the dashboard. Priya J et al had proposed a study on IoT based
water level monitoring system to inform the user on water level of liquid prevent it from overflowing. The
ultrasonic sensors is used to detect and compare the water level with the container depth. While Muthamil
Selvan.S et al had proposed a research on Automatic Water Level Indicator using Ultrasonic sensors and
GSM Module. IoT describes a system consist of sensors that connect items in the physical world are via
wireless or wired Internet connections. Here, things are interconnected without human intervention to
automatically identify intended activities. Today, the Internet has become an integral part of the lives of people,
influencing almost every human being's for everyday activities. Due to the continuous effects of a wide
community, the Internet of Things (IoT) is developing enormously every day. Hence, in the field of flood
disaster risk reduction in particular for early warning and monitoring system, an IoT application is needed to
link the victim with the sensor node applied at a high prone area of flood via internet connection so that they will
always keep updating on current situation more precisely. Due to the continuous effects of a wide community,
the Internet of Things (IoT) is developing enormously every day. The IoT tends to have unlimited applications
because in every sphere of life there seem to be unlimited needs. Therefore, with a low-cost and effective flood
monitoring system, this paper present a prototype to help communities affected by flood in high prone areas
by providing interactive and real-time information on the current water level and rain intensity with alert
notifications by using Blynk Application. By applying an Internet of Thing could help victims to monitor the
flood water level and rain intensity via the apps in smartphone together with the alerting system for incoming
flood via the apps. A wireless sensor node connected with NodeMCU is used which consist of ultrasonic
sensors and rain sensor to collect data and sent them via cloud to be viewed in Blynk application.

2. Research Method

Flood monitoring system using wireless sensor node is developed to observe the status of flood which could
alert people who were in the area frequently affected by floods in Johor state, Malaysia. The system consists
of a sensor node which detects the water level and rain intensity using an Ultrasonic Distance Sensor and
rain sensor respectively. When the water level and rain intensity reaches a certain level of hazards, the device
will generate an alarm system with three different colours of LEDs indicating three levels of detection for flood
level in order to notify people on incoming flood in that area that could endanger their life. Numerous types of
ultrasonic sensors with significant differences in frequency and power consumption are available. The high-
frequency ultrasonic sensors will have a sharper beam width and may detect obstacles in a longer range.
Some of the new sensors also have the same detection range as previous models but less power consumption.
The ultrasonic sensors must be able to detect obstacles or objects between 2cm and 50cm in this project.
Since the entire system supply is taken out of the supply, less current consumption is crucial and must be
capable of operating at low voltage. HC-SR04 meets this project's criteria for detecting the level of flood water
after long research between the HC-SR04 and other ultrasonic sensor.

NodeMCU based technology that acts as the microcontroller of this system that attached with ultrasonic and
rain sensors to form a wireless sensor node and placed at a high prone area of flood. When the sensors were
triggered, all the data will be sent to Blynk application to be viewed on user’s smartphone via the wireless
connection. At the same time, the data is stored in a CSV database. This data can be converted into excel
form which could alert the local authority for further action.

Two sensors are used as inputs to the NodeMCU and 9V solar panel is used to power up the system to
function well. A step down module is used to decrease the voltage of the the solar panel to 5V. Two rechargable
battery is used to store electric charges. The ultrasonic distance sensor is used to detect the flood level at a
high prone area of flood. The rain or water dule sensor detects the rain intensity and develops a notification alert
when raining heavily started. The Blynk application provides an interactive and easy to access platform for
user or victim to get accurate information on the incoming floods by displaying current condition of flood water
level and rain intensity in real-time condition.

From Figure 1, the flow chart explained the overall system and how it works. First, NodeMCU connected with the
internet via Wifi connection. After the Blynk connection is established, ultrasonic sensors and rain sensor act
as two different input of the system. When the water level rises, the system will continue to the next steps.
Three processes when water level rises which trigger green, yellow and red LEDs and buzzer respectively.
sending the data to Blynk application. All of these data are sent to Blynk application on user’s smartphone.
Finally, notifications via Blynk are sent to the user for alerting purposes.
 Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Proposed Flood Warning and Monitoring System

Blynk was designed to remotely controlled hardware where data can be displayed, data stored and data
monitored in Blynk cloud, Blynk apps and Blynk database.In this work, Blynk was used to create a flood
monitoring system application for monitoring data from NodeMCU which connected with ultrasonic and rain
sensors over the internet by using a smartphone. There will be LCD to display the level indicator (safety,
warning and critical level) inside the Blynk’s interface. Next, the value display widget will display the flood’s
level sense by ultrasonic sensors. Besides that, different LEDs light up according to the current level to indicate
the current status of flood. Lastly, the history graph widget could track the flood’s level and save it into the
database.
 Figure 2. Schematic Diagram of Steps to Build Blynk Interface

In Figure 2, the step by step procedure for building the Blynk apps using a smartphone is illustrated. Users
could install or download Blynk apps for android or iOS at Google plays store or app store. User needs to
install Blynk library in the Arduino IDE library folder to interface with Arduino. The work for Arduino based
application as it reported by the Authors. Furthermore, open the apps on the smartphone after the installation is
complete and create a new account to log in to a new project. The selected hardware is NodeMCU for this
project and the type of communication is WiFi ESP8266. The authentication token must be obtained first to
build a project. Once the authentication token is obtained by the user, the Blynk apps can be design.

1. Results and Discussion

To test whether the prototype works accordingly, an experiment was conducted to test the measurement of
water detected by wireless sensor node. Buzzer and LED started to trigger when the water level reached
certain level. Figure 3 shows the Flood level on Blynk application that can be viewed on the user’s
smartphone. The reading of data sense from the ultrasonic sensors from the system. There are three mode
displays on the screen of the smartphone. It displayed level of water either in safety, warning or critical level to
alert victims in a high prone area of flood. The data sensed by the sensor was displayed on the Blynk’s
interface reflecting the level indicator as well as the distance. The distance of the water is also displayed on
the widgets which used LED as the indicator . Three LEDs widget triggered based on flood level status (green
for safety, yellow for warning and red for critical). Water sensor detects the rain intensity and sends an alert
when rain heavily started. Rain intensity level widget is added to display the rain intensity which acted as the
first system’s monitoring on rain before huge flood occur s. A flood level is displayed in cm unit. At the lowest
part of the interface shows a Super-chart widget which could display the graph of flood level in real time
condition. All the widgets kept updating between each other that lead to the combination of very useful system
to warn and monitor current flood condition at place with high prone of flood in Johor state. In this information,
x-axis represents for time, and y-axis represents for flood level. This provides an easy access for the user to
get an accurate reading on flood level in real time condition. The graph shows the flood level reading for every
second. This history graph can be used to track the flood level in real time condition. A graph plotted the flood
level in centimeter in Excel format. The data plotted are important for future work of the system especially in
flood forecasting and other improvement of the system
Figure 3. Flood Level Detection Monitoring in Blynk Apps
 Flood Level (cm) Signage

Below 3 cm Safe / Low

Between 3 cm- 5 cm Warning

5 cm and above Critical / High

Table 1. Flood Level Categories based on Flood Detection

Table 1 tabulates the range of level indicator that indicates the distance of sensor for safety purposes. Figure
4 shows the system will send the alert notification to the user or victim via Blynk push notification on
smartphone. When the rain started to fall heavily, a higher tendency that a flood will occur at any time at that
place. The system sends the notification “Raining Heavilly, Please be Aware!!” as an a lert purpose so that the
victim will get notified at any times and anywhere when the rain started to fall heavily.
 Figure 4 : Notification Alert and Warning Sent by Blynk Apps

Figure 5 shows the view of the prototype. A black metal box is used to place the microcontroller of the system
which is NodeMCU integrated with sensors. A 9V solar panel is used as of power supply to power on the
systes. A RGB LED is used to indicate the different of flood levels warning signage. green LED started to
trigger when safe level of flood level detected. At warning level, yellow LED will blink, lastly, at high water level,
red LED turn on, as well as the buzzer. An LCD display indicates flood detection on water level status which
appear whether Safety level, Warning level or Critical level.
During Low Water level : During Warning Water level : During High/ Critical water
Level: Red LED blinks , LCD
Green LED blinks & LCD display Yellow LED blinks & LCD display display ‘High Water level’, and
‘Low Water level’ ‘Waning Water level’ buzzer sounds.

Side View of HydroDetector

Front View Front View / Inside the black metal box Top view : Solar panel
 Bottom View: Ultrasonic Water sensor : detect rain intensity and LCD display ‘ Hi, Im Hydrodetector’
sensor and water sensor stagnant water

Figure 5 Low-Cost Prototype of Hydrodetector : Flood Warning and Monitoring System

Hydrodetector can also be used to prevent the dengue problem, we have conducted experiments in the
school area and blocked drains. We have done this experiments for 5 days and with the help of a water
sensor, blue LED, LCD, and smartphone notifications, we have detected and removed stagnant water in the
drains in order to resolve the dengue problems in our school.

For stagnant water :

Figure 6 show the results of our experiments that we have done for the past 5 days. In Figure 6, the graph
shows that, day by day, the number of mosquitoes in the school environment has decreased significantly. This
indicates a positive impact from our experiment.

4. Conclusion

The hydro detector offers a comprehensive range of benefits that significantly contribute to flood
management and public safety. Firstly, it provides early warnings that allow communities to take preventive
measures, potentially saving lives and reducing property damage. The real-time data and accurate
predictions also lead to improved flood preparedness, enabling more effective emergency planning.
Additionally, the hydro detector supports emergency response teams with precise information. Beyond these
critical functions, the system also plays a vital role in reducing mosquito breeding, which in turn helps
prevent the transmission of dangerous diseases like Dengue, malaria, and Zika fever, thereby promoting
public health and safety. Furthermore, by giving timely flood alerts, the system enables communities to
protect homes from natural disasters, fostering a healthier and safer environment.

The hydro detector also aligns with global goals, directly contributing to SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG
11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) . The Climate Action helps to prevent dengue, save the tree,
decrease green house effect and global warming. Lastly, the early detection and intervention capabilities
help mitigate financial losses, reducing the economic impact on individuals and governments. This study
based on the development of a smart flood monitoring system using ultrasonic sensors with NodeMCU and
Blynk application. The results offer flexibility, efficiency and low cost. Wireless sensor node based on Blynk
platform is an ideal platform to monitor flash floods and also as early warnings. The working of a low-cost
ultrasonic sensors and rain sensor integrated with NodeMCU are able to detect and provide efficient and
accurate sensing data for monitoring and alerting purposes. Through the experiment conducted, it shows that
this system can be used for detecting, monitoring and alerting the community in Johor in case of flash flood.

In this study, the prototype is only uses a small scale of sensor detection within 50cm. In actual world, the
system needs to detect the flood for about 1 to 2 meter if the system is placed at the riverside to detect flood.
Besides, this prototype is long lasting since it has water resistant features so that when the rain started to fall,
it cannot damage the sensor node. A proper installation need to be done so that the system can be put at any
kind of surfaces to avoid it being fall down when water level rise up. Therefore, the system could help a huge
number of victim’s life whenever the future work could be done on it. it offers seamless integration with existing
infrastructure and smart city systems, and features a user-friendly interface for easy monitoring and easy to
download via mobile apps. By using the apps, we can easily monitor the water level without even go to flood
area and also it shows accurate data's and information.

Furthermore, it operates on renewable energy which is using solar panel to power up the system and also
using rechargeable battery to store eletrics charge. This products it's only cost RM 60 wich is definitely low
cost and cheap. Lastly, the hydro detector are also portable so that you can bring it anywhere and it's built to be
long lasting.

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