POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Santa Maria Bulacan Campus

(Baha Watcher)
Flood Monitoring Using Arduino with SMS Notification

By:

Barcelo, James Lawrence

Catalogo, John Lester

Hernandez, Patrick

Perez, Rafael

Rivera, Matthew

Teodoro, Lord Cedric

 Chapter 1

The Problem and its Background

Introduction

Floods are typically caused by heavy rainfall, melting ice and snow on mountains, or a

combination of these factors when the carrying capacity of the lake, river, or sea into which the

water flows is exceeded. One of the major factors that causes a flood is its geographical location.

The floods have taken precious lives, including humans and animals, as well as property worth

millions of dollars.

Roads have been damaged by flooding, resulting in backups. Communication is now impossible

due to the destruction of the telecommunications infrastructure. The agricultural system has been

severely damaged by the diseases and will require a significant amount of time to repair. There

are countless instances where locals are not aware that a flood is happening, and as a result, they

are unable to leave for a safer area, losing their loved ones, valuables from their homes, pets, and

other possessions.

Another major problem that flood victims face is not knowing where to shift or which road to

take to reach a new location. Given that no one knows what is going on in such a situation. Lives

could be saved if there was a system that could warn people ahead of time of a major disaster. As

a result, we need a device that will alert the public before the destruction occurs.
Background of the Study

Floods are some of the most common causes of weather-related global disasters, causing

billions of dollars’ worth of damages and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives (Atijosan,

Salau and Badru, 2017). Although, we're able to forecast rainfall or to track typhoon route very

exactly from the satellite images, the need to have real-time monitored data such as flow, or

water level is crucial in order to make a reasonable choice on the actions important to be carried

out to prevent flooding.

The Philippines, being right next to Pacific Ocean, are prone to this because of the

typhoons that are passing in our country. Every year we are dealing with roughly 20 typhoons on

average (GMA News, 2012), and these typhoons bring intense rainfalls that cause overflowing of

waterways resulting in extensive flood damage. The damage caused by floods in terms of loss of

life, property and monetary loss due to disturbance of economic activity are well known.

To solve this problem, the researchers came up with the idea and implementation of a

Flood Monitoring and Alerting system using Internet of Things (IOT) technology (Baha

Watcher). This device consists of 3 parts. The first component measures the height of the water

using ultrasonic distance measuring sensor. The second component is sending the collected data

to website or application using the Ethernet shield. The third component is sending notification

to houses to alert them about flood via SMS. The notification system is made via the most

popular mobile standard Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM).

 Baha Watcher is intended to provide information of the current water level status in

flood-prone areas and give alert notification if the water rises at a risk level which requires

evacuation. 

Objectives of the Study

General Objective

The general objective of this research is to design and develop a Flood

Monitoring device using Arduino with a software component that can store the data

captured from the sensors.

Specific Objectives

The following are the researchers’ objectives in producing this proposed

device:

1. Develop a device that is capable of monitoring water levels consist of

these 3 major electronic components:

 Arduino Uno

 GSM Sim Module

 Ultrasonic Sensor

2. Create a program for the microcontroller board to perform specific task:

 Create program to make the sensor coordinate to the

microcontroller to know the water level.

  Create a program to send early warning message depends on the

water level.

3. Test and evaluate results that is performed on the device on different

scenarios.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will redound to the benefit of the society considering that this

device will be more helpful for areas that are flooded and often hit by typhoons. This project is

very important to the city and barangay council, with this project they can monitor the water

level and can notify and inform their residents about the danger of flood. During heavy rainfall,

drainage and canal systems are overwhelmed by the onrushing water. And most of the time in

urban areas such as Metro Manila, clogged drainage system aggravates it. The purpose of this

project is to sense the water level in a flood and check if they are in normal condition. If they

reach beyond the limit, then it alerts people through LED signals and buzzer sound. Also, it

alerts people through SMS and Emails alerts when the water level reaches beyond the limit. The

excess water is left overflowing on roads and highways causing gridlocks and flooding. The

residents will be informed of the upcoming flood and can prepare for evacuation if necessary.

People can be caught unaware of the incoming danger of flash flooding with huge losses to

properties and sometimes loss of life.

This project will be undertaken to monitor and provide actionable response on a certain

flood level for local government units while notifying residents, specifically those who live in

flood-prone areas such as near rivers and low ground areas. This project will also be beneficial in

various sectors as follows:

 Future Researcher:

The project helps future researchers to extend and develop their knowledge about this

project and also to provide more ideas and research to build a good device that can monitor the

flood.

Residents:

This project contributes to the community to give awareness, to give early warning and

solution during the flood, to lessen the casualties and damage to the community and help people

to evacuate immediately. They should know the level of the flood. It can communicate via SMS

with the coordination of the Barangay Captain, Police and Disasters risk management.
Scope and Delimitation

Scope:

 Water Level Sensor – is a sensor device used to measure water level

 GSM Sim Module - is a chip or circuit that will be used to establish communication

between a mobile device or a computing machine and a GSM or GPRS system.

 Arduino Uno – a microcontroller board.

 Power System – the whole device is powered by a battery.

Limitations:

 The device may stop working due to power outage.

 The device is not water resistant.

Definition of Terms

To assist the understanding of this study, the following terms are defined, unless

otherwise indicated:

Ethernet Shield – it is a retired product. The Arduino Ethernet Shield Rev2 is available to buy.

See documentation for Ethernet Shield Rev2.

Flood - A large amount of water covers an area which is usually dry.

Early Warning Systems - The set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and

meaningful warning information to enable individuals, communities and organizations

threatened by a hazard to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the

possibility of harm or loss.

GSM - is the Global System for Mobile Communication. GSM established by the ETSI

(European Telecommunication Standards Institute) to define protocols for 2 G networks. It

operated as a substitute for the 1 G cellular networks.

SMS - stands for Short Message Service and is commonly known as texting. It’s a way to send

text-only messages of up to 160 characters between phones.

Typhoon - is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern

Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active

tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for almost one-third of the world's annual tropical

cyclones.
 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

LITERATURE AND STUDIES CONNECTED

Local

A howling from within : the transgressive homosexual voice in selected poems from the
Southern cross and other poems by Ralph Semino Galan by Louise Jezareth G. Antipala
Call Number: TU15550
Publication Date: 2010

This thesis aims to analyze selected poems from this collection using the theorizing of J. Neil
Garcia regarding Philippine gay culture, with support from Jonathan Dollimores theory of sexual
dissidence (specifically of transgressive aesthetics), and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwicks Epistemology
of the Closet.

The Filipino-Indian Home in "143445'6: the Singalong Singhs" by Gayna R. Kumar

Call Number: TU15673
Publication Date: 2010
Although most of the portrayals of Filipino-Indians in Philippine Literature and popular culture
are stereotypes, these are slowly being reinvented especially in this multicultural age that we are
living in. One such work that aims to do so is the award-winning screenplay "143445'6: The
Singalong Singhs" (2008) by Emmanuel dela Cruz and Michiko Yamamoto.
(Dahil) sa ngalan ng ama : ang makinilyang altar (2002) ni Luna Sicat-Cleto bilang
pakikipagtuos sa bagabag ng impluwensiya by Laarni Jeanne S. Ruiz
Call Number: TU15439
Publication Date: 2008

Ang pag-aaral na ito ay ginawa upang makita kung papano ginawang pakikipagtuos ni Luna
Sicat-Cleto sa Bagabag ng Impluwensiya na dinarama niya dala ng kanyang impluwensyal na
amang si Rogelio Sicat, ang kanyang nobelang Makinilya altar (2002). Makitang nakararamdam
nga ng : pagkabagabag" si Sicat-Cleto sa kanyang ama sa kanyang mga akdang sanaysay at
kuwento.
Female stereotypes in Philippine children's literature : a study of selected picture books for
ages 5-12 years old by Lorraine Angela C. Sison
Call Number: TU14582
Publication Date: 2007

This is a study on selected picture books from the Adarna House Collection of Children's
Literature using the theoretical frameworks from Eleonor Dionisio's Sex and Gender, and
Carolyn Medel- Anoñuevo's Ideology and Cultural Practice.

Ang pag-indak sa himig ni Bob Ong by Maria Carla P. Santiago

Call Number: TU14915
Publication Date: 2007

Pasok ang mga akda ni Bob Ong sa dalawang tradisyon ng panitikang Pilipino: ang panitikang
popular at ang panitikang didaktiko. Ito ang nilalayong patunayan ng pag-aaral na ito.
Tinangkang sagutin ng mananaliksik ang nabubuong pagtataka ukol sa pambihirang popularidad
na natatamasa ng manunulat na nagtatago sa publiko sa kabila ng mga pangangaral nito sa mga
mambabasa.

Gilda Cordero-Fernando's memoir, The last full moon and the problematique of female
self-representation by Beatriz Pilar Iturralde Lim
Call Number: TU15446
Publication Date: 2007

Autobiography is a concept that is not given much emphasis in Philippine literature. There have
been very few studies conducted to explore this genre as a whole, more so narratives written by
women. Female representation is another problematic arena which is not delved into due to
certain issues like policing the truth, determining the context of the autobiographical I in context
of its culture and society, and seeing how language constructs representations for the
autobiographies.
Dramatizing ideology in teatro pulitikal by Ronald F. Gue
Call Number: TU13713
Publication Date: 2006

This study is an analysis of the ideological and political dynamics of three of the five plays of
Malou Jacob in her collection Teatro Pulitikal. Specifically, the plays analyzed are Juan Tamban,
Anatomiya ng Korupsyon, and Pulitika ng Buhay at Pag-ibig.

Critical theory and the signs of Utopia in Philippine futuristic fiction by Maria Eda C.
Carreon
Call Number: TU13735
Publication Date: 2005

"Critical Theory and the Signs of Utopia" is a study on the features of the eight first-place
winning entries from the Futuristic Fiction category of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
Literature from the year 2000 to 2004.

Crossing the threshold of and disclosing the fantastic in Gilda Cordero-Fernado's selected
stories by Marie Camille G. de Leon
Call Number: TU13725
Publication Date: 2005

Founded on different researches, Gilda Cordero-Fernando is acknowledged as a writer on the

topic of middle-class. In one of Jose Y. Dalisay's introductions of his work, he asserts that Gilda
Cordero-Fernando is a fantasy writer.

Locating Elsa M. Coscolluela and Ma. Lourdes L. Jacob in the literary history of
Philippine drama by Michelle Therese L. Deles
Call Number: TU13728
Publication Date: 2005
A study on literary history which focuses on an area of Philippine literature that has been
overlooked - Philippine theatre - and furthermore a branch of Philippine theatre which has shared
a similar history - Philippine drama by women from the 1970s to the present.

This chapter presents studies and literature culled from a variety of sources, including books,

unpublished theses, and the like. The presentation begins with local literature, moves on to

foreign studies, and then concludes with local studies. Additionally, the synthesis of the collected

works, data, and information is included.

Foreign

According to Zara (2008), proficiency in foreign literature is the capacity to effectively

communicate or comprehend thoughts or ideas through the grammatical system and vocabulary

of the language, using its sounds or written symbol. Although this may appear to be

oversimplified, one can infer that the language proficiency tests will be influenced by educators'

definitions of proficiency. Evidently, educators' perceptions of limited English proficient

students' abilities and progress will be distorted by incomplete or unreasonable definitions of

language proficiency.

According to Huang (2006), speaking English outside of the classroom and motivation to speak

English were strong predictors of students' use of oral communication strategies. As a result, the

inquiry emphasizes the significance of intrinsic motivation and functional practice in the growth

of communication proficiency.

According to Zara (2008), Baker and MacIntyre (2000) state, "It is not the individual's actual

skill that counts; rather, "WTC will be determined by how they perceive their communication
competence" (p. 316). The frequency of communication is influenced by both perceived

competence and the willingness to communicate (WTC). However, Cheng (2007) reveals that

there was no statistical correlation between the self-reported oral proficiency and the CSs used.

She makes the observation that "effective communication requires more than the ability to talk."

It also involves using one's mental faculties to choose one's words and communicating in a way

that makes the other person understand what one is saying.

According to Alkuino (2006), journalism is the art of expressing diverse information that is

important to readers, listeners, or viewers. It can be broken down into three groups: written,

spoken, and viewed If the medium is a newspaper, magazine, or other reading material, it is

written; oral if the radio is used; and visual in the case of movies and television.

Zara (2008), on the other hand, agrees with Bond (2002) that journalism encompasses all means

by which news and comments on it reach the general public. If something in the world piques the

interest of the general public, as well as all of the thoughts, actions, and ideas it elicits, it

becomes essential material for the journalist.

In an essay that was published in The Politics of News in 2008, Picard wrote that public

journalism is nothing more than the conviction that the business of journalism is making

citizenship work. In reality, there is only the groundbreaking, sometimes contradictory work of

dozens of editors and reporters with very few connections.

Using a set of narratological categories, Berning (2011) reiterates the narrative potential of

journalistic reports. The argument that journalism and literature have distinct, non-overlapping

communicative goals is challenged by the author, who lays out minimal requirements for

particular kinds of reports. This study advances a re-conceptualization of journalism and

literature as two fields with permeable borders by demonstrating that reportage is a hybrid text

type that seeks to inform, educate, and entertain.

As stated by Camacho (2010) in an article published in the Alameda Times-Star, Maxwell

(2002) The students need to learn how to write well. Sadly, the majority of writing-across-the-

curriculum programs are too inconsistent to cultivate a love of writing or even an appreciation

for its significance.

This chapter presents the related literature of previously completed studies whose salient findings

support and substantiate the presented arguments in favor of developing the system. It discusses

different systems and their functions. The researchers highlighted various theories which were

essential in the development of the Flood Monitoring Using Arduino with SMS Notification.

SMS Based Flood Monitoring and Early Warning System

Azid, Chand, Jacquier, Prasad, Raghuwaiya and Sharma (2015) demonstrates the design process,

implementation and experimental verification of an SMS based Flood Monitoring and Early
Warning system with tools such as credit top-up and storing contact numbers that will be done

via SMS. The system provides timely information and alerts at-risk or threatened populace and

relevant authorities using SMS when the level of water surpasses the user-defined threshold

value. The simple yet effective warning system is deemed to be one of the fastest and cost-

effective method of alerting the relevant authorities and the vulnerable residence.

Design of an Automated River Water Level Monitoring System by using Global System for

Mobile Communications

Agrey Kato, Ramadhan Sinde and Shubi Kaijage (2015) proposes a wireless solution, based on

Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network for monitoring and controlling of the

river water level parameter. One of the advantages of the system is that it can be used for the

decrement of water level in the rivers and water level rising in a case of flooding. The system at a

particular interval continuously sends river water level measurements to the concerned authority

with water environment flow management, but once the river water reaches the critical level

either by decreasing or flooding, an alarm will be sent via GSM network to the personal in

charge. The system allows on-line configurations of the system equipment on the field, and it

uses open access platform Arduino as the main controller, ultrasonic sensing hardware and web

infrastructure that allows remote access to information in any place of the country.

FloodSense | A Flood Water-level Monitoring System using GSM

BigHero4, a team composed of C. Escares, L. Froyalde, S. Gevaña and B. Pedrosa (2015) from

First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities in Tanauan City, in Batangas, in partnership
with Brainsparks and JumpSparc come up with a project that will help to reduce the risks that are

brought upon by flooding. Their idea is to create a flood-water level monitoring system which

has an SMS capability to which will provide critical information to the people near those flood-

prone areas. FloodSense is implemented with a GSM module which enables FloodSense to send

information to subscribers regarding the flood water level in their subscribed area. Also, anyone

can acquire real-time flood level measurement as long as they know the SMS code for the

FloodSense module they want to access information. FloodSense, if installed in sidewalk and

road has the capability to advise people most especially road users and passengers if a particular

area/road is flooded is passable or not. This means that commuters will reduce the risk of being

stranded. Road traffic will also be reduced during a flood. Business delivery delays will also be

avoided.

Water level indicator with SMS alert for emergency flood

Based in Summit Grover (2016), in India seasonal rivers don’t have water all over the year and

what happen people use to go inside river when the level is not very high, or maybe the dams

store the water so the level is not very high usually. So, Grover designed an onboard power

supply using 12 – 0- 12 transformer, diode in 4007, capacitor 1000uf and regulator 7805. Grover

made three levels in the bottle to demonstrate it, and whenever the water reaches that level, the

indication is made on the LED and also via SMS to the particular phone number.
Reference:

https://libguides.dlsu.edu.ph/c.php?g=807141&p=5760944

https://www.englishwizardonline.com/2018/07/sample-foreign-literature-of-

chapter-2.html