Ecodev, a team of 4 CMU-Africa alumni was among the 3 teams to win the grand prize at the Hackathon for Climate Early Warning Solutions using the Internet of Things, organized by the Rwanda Meteorology Agency (Meteo Rwanda) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Jeannette Mukamana, Micheal Nayebare, Martine Munezero and Roger Mizero(E’18) developed a solution leveraging applied machine learning to predict the likelihood of flash floods in Rwanda, given weather readings and alerts from Meteo Rwanda.
The hackathon targeted the creation of early warning systems for climate change, with the intent of assisting in government disaster response and planning. Rwanda is a country highly prone to disaster, including landslides, flash floods, droughts, windstorm, lightning and earthquakes. According to the hackathon organizers, over 150,000 people lie at risk of weather-related disasters.