Protection against heavy rain is one of the central challenges of climate change adaptation. In heavy rain, every minute counts to take short-term measures to reduce damage and get to safety. A faster and more precise pre-warning helps emergency services to act proactively.
Early warning system for heavy rain
The “heavyRAIN” research project will receive funding from September 2022 to August 2025 as part of the mFUND innovation initiative Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV). The aim is to develop an improved early warning system for heavy rain. In the next three years, separate precipitation measurements will be carried out in four German cities (Bochum, Hagen, Lüdenscheid and Lübeck). With this and other weather data, the forecast methodology is improved.
The project is initiated and implemented by Okeanos Smart Data Solutions GmbH from Bochum, hydro & meteo GmbH from Lübeck, the Bochum Institute for Technology gGmbH and the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia. They are supported by the cities of Bochum, Hagen, Lübeck and Lüdenscheid, which also act as locations for the field studies, as well as by the German Weather Service, the Emschergenossenschaft & Lippeverband, the Bochum Netze public utility, the Hagen weather network, the Lüdenscheid & Herscheid municipal utility, the Lübeck Digital utility (until recently “Travekom”), the Hagen business enterprise and the Lübeck University of Technology.
Rain measurement in real time
The hydro-meteorological engineering office hydro & meteo GmbH, a company that has been familiar with precipitation data and warning systems for many years, is the project partner in Lübeck. In cooperation with the department for street lighting of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck, 50 newly developed, compact IoT precipitation sensors will be installed on street lamps throughout the city. The NIVUS precipitation sensors work with infrared light and offer real-time rain measurement, which is collected via the LoRaWAN network of Stadtwerke Lübeck. The measurements will later be available on the internet portal of the “Smart City Region Lübeck” (geoportal.smart-hl.city). This data is then analyzed by powerful forecasting algorithms to provide an accurate estimate of precipitation levels.
From the laboratory to practice
Marius Kämmel studies Environmental Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Lübeck. As part of the teaching at the department Applied Sciences The 24-year-old found out about the HeavyRAIN project: “I was immediately enthusiastic about it and am now working on the project as a research assistant.” Environmental Process Engineering Laboratory tested. For this he designed and used his own test setup. “Meanwhile, I am installing the sensors together with my colleague Bruno Castro from hydro & meteo GmbH in all parts of Lübeck. This practical work is a lot of fun. It also makes me proud to see the sensors in their final location.”
The heavyRAIN project is part of the innovation initiative mFUND (www.mFUND.de) funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport.