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A land and water flash flood detecting and warning system includes a buoyant waterproof casing. A detachable tether is externally fixed to the casing and a distal end of the tether is attached to an anchor to secure the casing in place on land. Accelerometers mounted internally to the casing are con

A land and water flash flood detecting and warning system includes a buoyant waterproof casing. A detachable tether is externally fixed to the casing and a distal end of the tether is attached to an anchor to secure the casing in place on land. Accelerometers mounted internally to the casing are configured to measure short-range and short-term positional information of the casing when the casing is in water due to flooding of the land. A radio transceiver coupled to the accelerometers transmit the positional information to land based receiving stations to indicate a flooding condition.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A land and water flash flood detecting and warning system, comprising: a buoyant waterproof casing; a detachable tether externally fixed to the casing having a distal end attached to an anchor to secure the casing in place on land; accelerometers mounted internally to the casing and configur

1. A land and water flash flood detecting and warning system, comprising: a buoyant waterproof casing; a detachable tether externally fixed to the casing having a distal end attached to an anchor to secure the casing in place on land; accelerometers mounted internally to the casing and configured to measure short-range and short-term positional information of the casing when the casing is in water due to flooding of the land; and a radio transmitter coupled to the accelerometers to transmit the positional information to land based receiving stations. 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the casing has a smooth elongated ellipsoid shape with a major axis substantially greater than a minor axis. 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the casing is armored. 4. The system of claim 1 further comprising: short-range and long-range radio transceivers. 5. The system of claim 1 further comprising: short-range antenna patches embedded in the casing. 6. The system of claim 1 further comprising: long-range buoyant antennas attached to the casing. 7. The system of claim 1 further comprising: temperature sensors, acoustic sensors and depth transducers coupled to a microprocessor. 8. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a flow rate sensor; and a tether release mechanism coupled to the flow rate sensor. 9. The system of claim 1 wherein the tether is detachable at a predetermined flow rate of the water. 10. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a GPS receiver to determine long-range and long-term position information of the casing. 11. The system of claim 1 wherein the anchor is a roof bolting rod. 12. The system of claim 1 wherein the anchor is a marine anchor. 13. The system of claim 1 wherein a shape of the casing, a center of mass, and a position of the tether on the casing is adjusted to cause the casing to rapidly flutter laterally when buoyant in rapidly flowing water. 14. A method for detecting and warning of flash-floods, comprising: attaching a buoyant waterproof casing to land by a detachable tether externally fixed to the casing; measuring short-range and short-term positional information of the casing using accelerometers mounted internally to the casing when the casing is in water due to flooding of the land; and transmitting the short-range and short-term positional information of the casing to land based receiving stations. 15. The method of claim 14 further comprising: detaching the casing at a predetermined flow rate of the water.