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EARLY WARNING SYSTEM |
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(UNDER DEVELOPMENT STAGE)
EWARNS™ rainfall observation and flash flood prediction utilizes the revolutionary state-of-the-art, Malaysian-invented Remote Sensing and Transmission Unit (RSTU). This breakthrough in technology showcased a contrast difference between the conventional tipping bucket and the rain sensor as used in EWARNS™. Not only is the amount of rain measured on every second basis but also the rainfall impact as denoted by the difference in rainfall amplitudes. The functionality of the RSTU would also include acting as a web-server in which the 'remote panel' could be viewed via the World Wide Web to monitor more closely the sudden change in the pattern of rainfall. Flash flood prediction would depend on the severity of the direct impact of raindrops and to be processed against a series of databases for the specific area (including topography, drainage pattern and flood prone areas) to ascertain any risk of flash flood occurring. It is also very useful especially when being placed on hill-slopes where close monitoring is required.
As the solar-powered rain sensing technology does not require collection of raindrops as a form of rainfall measurement, there is no bucket required and thus need not worry anymore about leaves or other objects got stuck between the funnel area as in the tipping bucket, leaving it almost maintenance-free. Therefore, placing it along slope berms, or other difficult locations where trees may be a hindrance may now be a thing of the past. In addition, with its high gain antenna capabilities, non-coverage areas due to blind spots would now be able to be reached and the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) internet-based connections be established.
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EWARNS™ early warning system on erosion risks / hazards utilizes a transmission unit, receiving unit and a display panel. The theory behind this system is that the transmission unit, also known as the Remote Sensing and Transmission Unit (RSTU), would sense the rain impact and transmit rainfall data at a regular interval via internet connections to a receiving unit. Subsequently, the receiving unit would read the e-mail, which contains the rainfall information, and then process the data together with the baseline database that is already made available. Results obtained would then be set against the threshold value to check the level of risk involved. Finally, the end result would be made available via an early warning system panel, which would be relayed to a website to make such information available to the public. This process would therefore be repeated at every few minutes if there were incidences of rainfall detected by the sensors. In this way, such information would be updated in a near real-time time frame in order to provide an early warning to the public and authorities concerned so that remedial actions and mitigation measures could be taken soonest possible once a high-risk area is detected by the system. Graphical interpretation of the EWARNS™ early warning system on erosion risks / hazards is as shown on the right picture frame.
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The website's map of risk areas will also be updated every few minutes as data from the sensors are constantly calculated. A blinking red light with continuous playback of the warning sound indicates that certain area is at high-risk of erosion, while yellow is for medium, and blue for low-risk areas. Remarks on the percentage of risk area and in acreage for the built-up areas, roads and agricultural areas would also be shown in the display panel. Flowchart showing the process involved in EWARNS™ real-time early warning on erosion risks / hazards is as shown on the right picture frame.
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