IoT Flood Monitoring & Alerting System

This guide will help you create an IoT-based flood monitoring and alerting system using Raspberry Pi. The system will monitor water levels, detect potential flooding, and send real-time alerts to help prevent damage and ensure safety.

Components Required

• Raspberry Pi (Model 3 or later)
• Water level sensor (e.g., ultrasonic or float sensor)
• Buzzer or alarm (for local alerts)
• Relay module (optional, for controlling external devices)
• Connecting wires and breadboard
• Power supply (for Raspberry Pi)
• Cloud service account (e.g., ThingSpeak, Blynk, or AWS IoT)
• Optional: Camera module (for visual confirmation)

Setting Up the Hardware

Follow these steps to set up the hardware:

1. Install the Water Level Sensor

   Place the water level sensor at the location you want to monitor. Connect the sensor to the Raspberry Pi using the GPIO pins. For an ultrasonic sensor, ensure it is properly aligned for accurate distance measurement.

2. Connect the Buzzer or Alarm

   Connect the buzzer or alarm to the Raspberry Pi through a relay module if necessary. This component will be used to generate a local alert when flooding is detected.

3. Power the System

   Ensure the Raspberry Pi and other components are properly powered using the appropriate power supplies.

Programming the Raspberry Pi

Write the code to read data from the water level sensor and send alerts to the cloud. Below is a basic outline of the code using Python:

                import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
                import time
                import requests

                # Configuration
                WATER_SENSOR_PIN = 18
                BUZZER_PIN = 23
                CLOUD_URL = "https://api.thingspeak.com/update?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY"
                ALERT_THRESHOLD = 10  # Example threshold for flood level in cm

                # Setup
                GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
                GPIO.setup(WATER_SENSOR_PIN, GPIO.IN)
                GPIO.setup(BUZZER_PIN, GPIO.OUT)

                def send_alert():
                    response = requests.get(CLOUD_URL + "&field1=1")
                    print(f"Alert sent to cloud: {response.status_code}")

                try:
                    while True:
                        water_level = GPIO.input(WATER_SENSOR_PIN)  # Adjust for your sensor type
                        if water_level > ALERT_THRESHOLD:
                            print("Flooding detected!")
                            GPIO.output(BUZZER_PIN, GPIO.HIGH)
                            send_alert()
                            time.sleep(10)  # Wait before next check
                        else:
                            GPIO.output(BUZZER_PIN, GPIO.LOW)
                        time.sleep(60)  # Check every minute

                except KeyboardInterrupt:
                    GPIO.cleanup()
            

This code monitors the water level sensor. If the water level exceeds a predefined threshold, it triggers the buzzer and sends an alert to the cloud service.

Setting Up Cloud Integration

To monitor and analyze flood data, integrate the system with a cloud service. Configure the cloud service to receive data from the Raspberry Pi and set up dashboards or alerts based on the data received from the flood monitoring system.

Testing and Calibration

Test the system by simulating different water levels and verifying that the alerts are correctly triggered and sent to the cloud. Adjust the sensor calibration and code parameters as needed for accurate flood detection.