City deploys flood warning drones for low-lying areas

August 8, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITYWIDE — AS NEW YORK braced for severe rainfall on Tuesday, the city’s emergency management office deployed several teams of drone operators to low-lying areas around the five boroughs to help warn residents of flash-flooding danger, reports the New York Times. The brainchild of Mayor Adams, the drones carry loudspeakers and broadcasted warning messages in Spanish and English to at-risk neighborhoods, including Coney Island and the Rockaways. Officials warned that basement apartment residents should take extra caution during heavy rainfall.

The city was forced to apologize on Wednesday, after videos of the Spanish-language recording spread on social media, with widespread criticism that the message was incomprehensible. OEM commissioner Zach Iscol said the issue was in the recording and that the message had not been machine-translated.

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