Politics
That Drone in the Sky Is Here to Warn New Yorkers About Flooding
Mayor Eric Adams, an avowed technology geek, is using the city’s drones to deliver a recorded message warning vulnerable New Yorkers of flooding dangers.
New York City officials have found a new way to deploy their stable of drones: flying them in vulnerable neighborhoods to blare safety messages that flash flooding may be coming.
Five teams of drone operators began to fan out across the city around 1 p.m. Tuesday to send the aircraft — equipped with loudspeakers — skyward to warn of the potential dangers to New Yorkers from the coming rain.
City officials say heavy rainfall is expected to start Tuesday afternoon and last until Wednesday, and that basement dwellers should take particular note. Flash flooding has become a major issue for the city in the age of climate change: In 2021, rains tied to Hurricane Ida drowned 11 New Yorkers in their basements.
Zachary Iscol, the city’s emergency management commissioner, said in a brief interview Tuesday afternoon that it was the mayor’s idea to use drones for these purposes.
Mr. Adams, a self-described tech geek, seems to harbor a particularly soft spot for drones. Under his leadership, New York City officials have deployed them to inspect buildings, monitor protests and keep an eye out for both sharks and struggling swimmers. In one experimental program, the city said it would equip drones with flotation devices that could theoretically be dropped to swimmers in need.
“We have to meet people where they are,” Mayor Adams said Tuesday.
The drone teams are delivering messages in Spanish and English in historically flood-prone areas, including the Queens neighborhoods of Howard Beach, the Rockaways, Ozone Park, Jamaica and Hollis; Throgs Neck and near the Bronx River in the Bronx; Coney Island in Brooklyn; and the Staten Island neighborhoods of New Dorp and Fox Beach.
The last time New York City was at this “moderate” threat level for excessive rainfall was in September, Mr. Iscol said, when floods ground the city to a halt and Mr. Adams was criticized for failing to adequately warn the public.
“This is something that people need to be taking very seriously tonight,” Mr. Iscol said.
