FloodGuard Junior

Inspiration

We are from Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta, regions where monsoon floods aren’t just newsthey are lived reality. As college students, we’ve experienced buses delayed, roads submerged, and friends wading through knee-deep water just to reach classes.

The 2018 Kerala floods, which displaced over 5 million people, reinforced this problem. Even then, many families reported they received no timely, hyperlocal warning.

District-level messages reach people far too late, missing the exact streets, schools, and houses that are at risk. That inspired us to create a community-driven, no-code flood alert system.

What it does

FloodGuard Junior provides hyperlocal, instant flood alerts by combining:

Community Reports – Students and local residents report rising water through a no-code mobile app.

Autonomous Sensors – Low-cost solar-powered IoT sensors monitor rivers, culverts, and remote areas.

How we built it

Community App: Built using Glide + Google Sheets, so students can report water levels with one tap and a photo.

Sensors: Solar-powered IoT kits deployed in remote locations, sending water-level data to the Google Sheet via ThingSpeak/Blynk APIs.

Automation: IFTTT/Zapier workflows trigger instant alerts based on certain conditions.

Challenges we ran into

Community participation: Initially, people were hesitant to report water levels. We solved this by training students and emphasizing small, quick reports.

Remote monitoring: Deploying sensors in hard-to-access riverbanks required creative solar setups and waterproofing.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a fully functional, zero-code, hyperlocal flood alert system within weeks.

What we learned

Technology can be practical, low-cost, and human-centered, not just Silicon Valley-style innovation. Small iterative systems can have real, measurable impact in disaster management.

What's next for FloodGuard Junior

Add a WhatsApp chatbot for real-time queries: “Is my street safe?"

Integrate voice alerts for elders who don’t use smartphones.

Build live dashboards in schools and panchayats for visible flood status.

Built With

• glide
• google-maps
• google-sheets
• iot
• sensor