How IoT Sensors can Help Prevent Flood Damage

CIO Applications| Monday, August 02, 2021

Because LoRa devices are low-power, they can run on batteries for years and connect to the LoRaWAN network wirelessly, allowing them to stay in the environment without needing to be serviced.

FREMONT, CA: Natural calamities such as floods and storms endanger lives and property throughout the world. These natural events frequently result in disasters due to a lack of effective monitoring systems, resulting in substantial economic losses, social disruptions, and harm to the urban environment.

Floodwaters can rise fast and without warning, causing chaos and danger for residents and emergency responders alike. Response teams may predict possible flooding risks using real-time data and insight provided by IoT technologies, reducing the risk to life, property, and business. Because of the regularity and severity of floods, technology businesses must find ways to use the Internet of Things to better plan for and respond to these disasters.

Cities must implement zoning, plan floods, and impose building laws as part of their preparations. Environmental sensors that measure wind, water levels, and tides are an excellent way to learn more about the environment and how different parts of a community react to rain, wind, and other factors. Cities can obtain a better understanding of where problems are and fix them when less severe weather gives a preview of what could happen with granular data. These sensors can also be used to keep track of what's going on during and after a weather event.

Users can connect through gateways that continually gather data, allowing IoT solutions to assess and detect issues before they become a crisis remotely, using individual, battery-operated sensors that function with the LoRaWAN® standard. When long-range, low-power sensors are combined with a LoRa® device, professionals can compute and measure water levels and depths in real-time. The small sensors can be placed in difficult-to-reach regions such as basements, alleys, and sewers to track water remotely and inform teams quickly if levels begin to increase.

Because LoRa devices are low-power, they can run on batteries for years and connect to the LoRaWAN network wirelessly, allowing them to stay in the environment without needing to be serviced.

When linked into consumer apps, sensor data can warn inhabitants of impending danger and give resources such as evacuation lists and personal safety instructions. While IoT technologies may not have the ability to prevent floods, real-time data monitoring aids in mitigating possible harm by allowing communities to develop proactive remedies.