Traditional emergency communication methods have been left in the dust by New York City, which has traded its bullhorn for cutting-edge technology. The new strategy is to use drones with loudspeakers to inform residents about any weather-related dangers.
There is a low humming noise in the background as a drone that has been fitted with a loudspeaker hovers above neighborhoods broadcasting warnings to people living in basements or on first floors of buildings about severe downpours threatening their lives, according to AP.
Voice from the sky reciting “be prepared to leave your location” can be heard in the footage released Tuesday by the city’s emergency management agency. “If there is flooding do not wait.”
For instance, the city has put five teams on high alertness by deploying several drones each. According to Zach Iscol, city’s commissioner of emergency management these alerts are being delivered in different languages and will continue until it becomes unsafe for drones to fly during bad weather.
New Yorkers residing in basement apartments can die when flash floods occur as these homes turn into death traps during heavy rainstorms. Eleven people died tragically inside such homes during what was left of hurricane Ida in 2021.
These drone warnings come alongside other forms of notification like posts on social media platforms, SMS messages and a system that reaches more than two thousand community organizations across New York City. These outfits provide assistance for older persons, disabled individuals and other vulnerable categories.
“We live in bubble; we’ve got wakeup calls so that we know where they stand,” said Mayor Eric Adams at a press conference on Tuesday.
He’s describes himself as “tech geek” and has pushed strongly for integrating technology into city government. His administration used drones to monitor big crowds and spot sharks at beaches within this town.
Even more so, under his leadership NYPD experimented with robotics such as employing briefly time square subway station patrol robot or sending robotic dog into risky situations i.e. 2023 Manhattan parking garage collapse.
