FLOEWS: Disaster Risk Managment & Early Warning Intelligence

Our Organization

FLOEWS

What is the name of your solution?

FLOEWS: Disaster Risk Managment & Early Warning Intelligence

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

A low-cost, equitable, socially-inclusive and gender-responsive flood disaster risk management & early warning Intelligence

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

I was inspired by the story of Sa’ad Abubakar Asha, is a typical Mallam whose sale tea and bread in Suleja, Niger State, Nigeria, Sa’ad lost 2 of his wives and 6 children and his ancestral house to recent flooding disaster earlier in July 2016. WHY? because he lacks access to an early warning information & guidance about the impending disaster and foremost, he has no flood insurance to cover for his family & house lost.

Like Sa’ad, there are about 5.4 billion people globally, 121 million Nigerians, assets worth $Billions living across the largest and populous urban & rural corridors of the world, all are vulnerable to short/long-term flood disaster. While, most of these individuals, communities, business & economies living within the coverage flood zones are ignorant, living with less or no in-depth knowledge of such risk.

As climate change persist so as its catastrophic adversity such as “flooding", individuals, communities and economies continue to get exposed and becomes vulnerable to such adversity and thereby cause huge devastation among lives, properties, utility & infrastructure, bio-diversity, food & water supply, economic losses estimated in $billions. Such vulnerable individuals & communities don't have access to a disaster management services & early warning system to prepare them against the impending disaster before it occurs, respond to emergencies during the occurrence, recover quickly after the disaster has strike and be resilient against its future occurrence.

“Human-caused climate disruption is now damaging every region. The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change details the suffering already happening. Each increment of global heating will further increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events,” said Mr Guterres UN Secretary General.

“We must invest equally in adaptation and resilience. That includes the information that allows us to anticipate storms, heatwaves, floods and droughts,” said the UN chief.

However, one-third of the world’s people, mainly in least developed countries and small island developing states, are still not covered by early warning systems.  In Africa, it is even worse: 60 per cent of people lack coverage.

Absence of a sustainable solution to bridge the gap between lack of access to an equitable, low-cost, socially inclusive & gender-responsive flood disaster management & early warning system has made flooding becomes major devastator with no or limited resiliency for centuries. It’s the most frequent natural disaster that affects the world with frequency of about 45% & accounting for 71% of all death related to natural disaster. Alone, it has crippled Nations, States and Communities, while wiping away years of infrastructural & economic development, spread water-borne diseases, displace population & caused disaster-based migration, food insecurity and degrade fertile lands etc. (Source: GFDRR 2022).

Gap:

• Despite the core benefits, 1 out of 3 people globally is still not covered by an early warning service.
• Proportion of people not covered is almost twice as high as in Africa.
• Vulnerable people are disproportionately affected.
• Climate & Natural Related Disaster such as flood affects 75% of the Global population either directly & indirectly.

What is your solution?

We are combining technology & nature-based approach to develop an all-round solution to the stated problem, the solution is called "FLOEWS". 

However, the solution is divided into 2 parts mainly; Mitigation & resiliency segments: 

FLOEWS for Resiliency:

FLOEWS is an all-round novel & multi-patented solution that monitors and forecast flood disaster imminence, thereby disseminating the forecast as an early warning intelligence to vulnerable individuals, communities, businesses and economies, WHY? for early preparedness, awareness, emergency response, speedy recovery and strengthening path to their overall resilience, towards the reduction in devastation among lives, valuable properties, utility & infrastructure, biodiversity, food/water security, water-borne epidemic and overall economic losses estimated in Billions $USD.

This information is critical and vital to vulnerable populations, businesses and communities by helping government, decision makers, emergency first responders, humanitarian/public safety agencies gain a better understanding of where to focus effort to prevent, protect against, and mitigate the effect of the complex threats and hazards. FLOEWS equip them with data-driven insights to better respond to and recover from the threats that pose the greatest risk keeping communities safe.

Leveraging datasets captured and streamed from constellation of FLOEWS proprietary IoT-based sensors network developed in-house, along with remotely-sensed data from across network of nano-satellites, RADAR/LIDAR, and an untapped unique meteorological data source harvested from wireless signals, which are computed together using a powerful GPU and with an industry standard hydrological model, analyse with an artificial intelligence (AI) & machined learning (ML), with the final derived insight being disseminated as an early warning intelligence inform of prediction/forecast about where, when, who and what magnitude is going to be affected by the flooding disaster via a multi-channel gateway such as On premises deployment, SaaS Web/Mobile App, API, open/shared data, Social-Media, SMS/IVR/USSD/Chatbot, Print-Media, Peer-to-Peer, off-grid-Mesh Network etc.

FLOEWS for Flood Mitigation:

FLOEWS utilizes the power of earth observation using network constellations Satellites, Sensors, UAV's, crowdsource, Geo-AI, Machine Learning, Analytics to help identify potential flood vulnerable geographies and populations, thereby, using FLOEWS Ai Advisory to recommend the mitigation strategy needed to help curb the impending or persisting catastrophe. The mitigation recommendation by the Ai Advisory suggests either a GRAY INFRASTRUCTURE such as Dam, Levee, culvert, drainage system, sewer storm etc. or GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE (nature-based) such as Mangroves and Peatlands which are flood repellent while holding largest carbon sequestration capability.

FLOEWS Ai Advisory monitors, identifies, assess & analyze the health status of existing peatlands and mangroves vegetation cover based on level of degraded and healthiness, thereby, suggesting restoration for the degraded and conservation for the healthy mangroves and peatlands. It also floods vulnerable areas with higher vulnerability but yet possess the potential of regenerating the land as peatland and growing mangroves to redact & repel flood while sequestrating carbon in larger quantity.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Target Market Segments

• Governmental Ministries & Agencies: LGA, NEMA, SEMA, Ministry of Environment, Water Resources, Agriculture, Inland waterways, UBRBDA, NIHSA, Social Insurance Scheme etc.
• NGO & Humanitarian Organizations: World Bank, UN, UNOOSA, UN-SPIDER, GFDRR, UNISDR, WHO, UNOCHOA, UNDP, Direct Relief, IoM, FEMA, Ready.gov etc.
• Enterprises/Business: Oil & Gas industry, Telco’s, Insurance Insurers (AIICO insurance), Urban & Regional Planners, Real Estate & Estate Developers, logistic & Supply Chain managers, Risk & assets assessor & analyst, Engineering & construction, Surveying & Geo-Informatics, large-scale commercial farmers, weather & disaster forecast, Mass Media etc.
• Research & Academia Education: University, students, scientist etc.
• Software Developers and ICT industry: Developer community, data scientist, AI/ML/DL engineers.
• Millennials & Digital Age.
• Last Mile Users: Subsistence farmers, low class urban, rural farmstead, isolated hamlet inhabitants, the marginalized such as: women, children, disabled & aged.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

Well Position.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Adapt land and coastal areas to more extreme weather, including through climate-smart agriculture or restoring natural ecosystems to mitigate impacts.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Gombe, Nigeria

In what country is your solution team headquartered?

• Cameroon
• Chad
• Niger
• Nigeria

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model that is rolled out in one or more communities

How many people does your solution currently serve?

100,000

Why are you applying to Solve?

As a social entrepreneur and innovator, I am deeply committed to using technology and innovation to solve pressing global challenges. I am passionate about creating innovative solutions that can make a positive impact on society, and I believe that MIT Solve is the perfect platform to do just that.

I am applying to MIT Solve because I believe in its mission of bringing together individuals and organizations from diverse backgrounds and fields to tackle the world's most pressing problems. MIT Solve provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with like-minded individuals and experts in a supportive and innovative environment, which is essential to driving meaningful change.

Furthermore, I am excited about the potential of the MIT Solve challenges to catalyze and accelerate the development of innovative solutions. I believe that these challenges provide a powerful platform to showcase new ideas and approaches, as well as access to funding, mentorship, and support to implement those ideas.

Overall, I am applying to MIT Solve because I am inspired by its commitment to creating a more equitable and sustainable world through innovation and collaboration. I am excited to be a part of this community of problem-solvers and to contribute my skills and expertise to tackle the world's most pressing challenges.

In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?

• Financial (e.g. accounting practices, pitching to investors)
• Human Capital (e.g. sourcing talent, board development)
• Legal or Regulatory Matters
• Monitoring & Evaluation (e.g. collecting/using data, measuring impact)
• Product / Service Distribution (e.g. delivery, logistics, expanding client base)
• Public Relations (e.g. branding/marketing strategy, social and global media)
• Technology (e.g. software or hardware, web development/design)

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Abubakar Bashir