RFMS: Real-time Flood Monitoring System with wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we present RFMS, the real-time flood monitoring system with wireless sensor networks, which is deployed in two volcanic islands Ulleung-do and Dok-do located in the East Sea near to the Korean peninsula and developed for flood monitoring. RFMS measures river and weather conditions through wireless sensor nodes equipped with different sensors. Measured information is employed for early-warning via diverse types of services such as SMS (short message service) and a Web service.

1. Introduction

Ulleung-do, a volcanic island located in the middle of the East Sea, has an area of 72,558,826 m² and a population of about 10 thousand. It is prone to rapid fluctuations in weather and also located in the middle of the seasonal typhoon path. The annual precipitation amounts to 1500 millimeters and specially the typhoon Nabi caused extensive damage of approximately half a billion dollars during 5 days in 2005 [1]. Moreover, Dok-do, which has an area of 187,453 m² and is located to the southeast of Ulleung-do, has always suffered from problems anchoring at the pier due to insufficient real-time weather information. Therefore, a flood monitoring system to cover all the rivers in Ulleung-do and an anchoring support system are required for inhabitants and tourists to prevent threats from flooding.