ZilinHydroSense
Flood Awareness for the Xiangjiang River
About Us
ZilinHydroSense is the first student/personal -built open platform to monitor and forecast river levels along the Xiangjiang.
We use real-time water data and lightweight AI prediction to inform citizens of flood risks before they escalate.
Our Impact
Changsha suffers 4–6 minor floods each year, but has lacked accessible tools to predict and prepare.
ZilinHydroSense empowers over 10 million people with live water level updates, risk alerts, and public transparency — helping reduce disaster losses and raise awareness citywide.
Meet the Founder
Hi, I’m Zilin (Angela) Zhou — a student developer passionate about environmental technology and social good.
I created this platform to close a critical data gap in my hometown, empowering 10.5 million people with access to flood insight tools.
Our Motives
ZilinHydroSense began as something deeply personal.
In April 2024, a devastating flood swept through my hometown, Changsha. My family's car was destroyed. My grandmother, living alone, was trapped in her house for over a week. I watched helplessly as helping drones delivered food to neighborhoods submerged in an eerie silence. What struck me most wasn't just the rising water, but the complete absence of warning. Data existed, yes, hidden deep within official websites, yet there were no accessible alerts, no public system to tell people what was coming. That profound sense of powerlessness stayed with me. I created ZilinHydroSense to change this reality: to transform hidden information into real-time, open, and predictive flood alerts. So the next time the waters rise, people can act before it's too late. And to break the information gap.
Information
ZilinHydroSense is a nonprofit, student/personal-led flood alert platform designed for the 10.5 million residents of Changsha.
We use real-time water level monitoring and AI-powered forecasting to provide 2-hour advance warnings for rising tides along the Xiangjiang River.
Our goal is to turn raw hydrological data into clear, accessible tools that help people prepare for and respond to floods.
Founded and built by Zilin Zhou, this project is powered by civic responsibility, technology, and local insight.
