Economical FloodGuard: Flood Warning System for Community Resilience

John Andrei Felixa; Daniela Shein Floresb; Patrixa Shannen Jamotc;Jemuel Macalintald & Honey Loraine
Riota.

1. INTRODUCTION plans to ensure effective response and

mitigation strategies. External support for
The Philippines is made up of more than
CB-FEWS is primarily focused on
7,000 islands and is annually affected by
facilitating active and meaningful
two monsoon season, and on average 9
participation of all community members,
typhoons make landfall. Those events lead
emphasizing local ownership and
an exceptional rainfall resulting in frequent
sustainability.
flooding during monsoon times and
typhoons. Flooding poses significant threats CB-FEWS, particularly pertinent in
to communities worldwide, causing loss of developing nations with constrained
life, property damage, and economic governmental resources, play a crucial role
disruption. In response to these challenges, in bolstering community sustainability and
the development of effective flood warning empowerment. These systems are
systems is crucial for enhancing community predominantly overseen by community
resilience and mitigating the impact of members themselves, fostering a sense of
floods. Floods are one of the major hazards. local ownership and responsibility (Khan et
They cause most of the water-related al., 2018).
disasters that globally account for 90% of all
disasters associated with natural hazards and
result in thousands of mortalities and billion-
dollar losses annually (Perera et al., 2019).
Early warning systems (EWS) are adopted
as one of the flood risk management
measures. An EWS is “an integrated system
of hazard monitoring, forecasting and
prediction, disaster risk assessment,
communication, and preparedness activities
systems and processes that enable
individuals, communities, governments,
businesses, and others to take timely actions
to reduce disaster risks in advance of
hazardous events” (UNDRR, 2017). A CB-
FEWS is a community-driven initiative
designed to offer real-time flood warnings,
thereby reducing the risks associated with
flooding events. Managed by and for
communities, it integrates various tools and