New York City emergency management officials are now using drones with loudspeakers to warn residents of potentially harmful weather.
The drone comes equipped with a loudspeaker that hovers over homes, warning people who may live in basements or ground-floor apartments about impending rain storms.
"Be prepared to leave your location," the voice boomed from the sky in footage released Tuesday by the city's emergency management agency.
"If flooding occurs, do not hesitate."
Approximately five teams with several drones each were assigned to specific neighborhoods prone to flooding.
Zach Iscol, the city's emergency management commissioner, told the Associated Press that the messages were being relayed in multiple languages and were expected to roam until the weather interfered with the drone flights.
For New Yorkers living in basement apartments, flash floods have been deadly as they can quickly fill up a deluge.
Eleven people drowned in basement homes in flooding rains from Hurricane Ida in 2021.
The drones come in addition to other forms of emergency messaging, including social media, text alerts and a system that reaches more than 2,000 community-based organizations throughout the city that serve senior citizens, people with disabilities, and other groups, said the news outlet.
"You know, we live in a bubble, and we have to meet people where they are in notifications so they can be prepared," said Eric Adams, New York City Mayor, at a press briefing on Tuesday.
