How do you build a reliable, real-time early warning system in mountainous terrain with limited connectivity – where every second can save a life? In Minas Gerais, Brazil, RipEX2 radio modems are helping CEMIG and Civil Defense do exactly that.
https//www.racom.eu/es/case/dam-safety-network
Challenge: Critical Communications for Dam Failure Early Warning
In response to one of Brazil’s worst environmental disasters – the 2019 collapse of the Córrego do Feijão dam in Brumadinho – CEMIG (Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais) and the Minas Gerais Civil Defense Authority launched an ambitious project to prevent similar tragedies.
The goal: develop and deploy a dedicated early warning system to alert residents living in flood-risk areas near hydroelectric dams. The result was the DIN – Individual Notification Device, which provides real-time audio and visual alarms triggered by upstream rainfall and river level monitoring.
For such a life-critical system, CEMIG needed a resilient, secure, and modern communication backbone that could:
- Operate in remote, mountainous regions with no cellular coverage
- Transmit real-time data from dam monitoring systems to DIN devices and control centers
- Survive extreme weather events and infrastructure damage
- Support mesh networking to ensure no data is lost – even if a node goes down
Solution: RipEX2 Mesh Radio Network with Dynamic RF Routing and Solar-Powered Resilience
To meet these demands, CEMIG selected RACOM’s RipEX2 radio modems as the core backhaul solution. The project was developed in partnership with FITec Inovações Tecnológicas, a Brazilian R&D institute that engineered the sensors, electronics, and LoRa-based alarm network. The initial installation was supported by our local partner Utili.
System architecture highlights:
- LoRa gateways collect sensor data from dam monitoring systems.
- These gateways are physically connected to RipEX2 modems, which act as the RF backhaul, forwarding data to the control centers.
- Mesh topology with dynamic routing via the BABEL protocol ensures optimal data paths across all seven hydro plants.
- Remote nodes powered by solar energy, using 100 W panels and 120 Ah batteries—a completely self-sufficient system designed for remote environments
- DIN devices are activated when monitored parameters – like rainfall or river swelling – cross critical thresholds.
- Real-time alarms (audio + visual) warn residents to evacuate.
- Hands-on testing and training sessions conducted at CEMIG headquarters in Belo Horizonte, enabling engineers and technical staff to operate and maintain the system independently
In eight plants, RipEX2 RF-only units were used. In Cajurú, a RipEX2 with cellular module provides automatic LTE failover, ensuring redundancy in the event of radio link loss.
Key technical specs:
- Channel width: 50 kHz
- Real-time data delivery to CEMIG’s SCADA team in Belo Horizonte
- Seamless integration with existing DIN monitoring and alarm infrastructure
Results: High-Impact Communication with Life-Saving Potential
Since its deployment, the RipEX2 mesh network has demonstrated exceptional performance and ultra-low latency, transmitting real-time environmental data from remote DIN locations directly to central control rooms.
- Operational in 7 hydro plants across Minas Gerais
- Reliable performance in areas with no cellular coverage
- Intelligent RF routing ensures continuous data flow, even under adverse conditions
- Backup LTE link in Cajurú adds another layer of resilience
- Supports Brazil’s updated National Dam Safety Policy (2020), which mandates robust disaster communication mechanisms
By enabling real-time monitoring and automated alerting, CEMIG’s DIN project – powered by RipEX2 – helps protect thousands of lives across the region, setting a benchmark for proactive disaster prevention and infrastructure safety in Latin America.
