The street-corner sensors that track flooding in real time
NYC's FloodNet initiative has deployed over 250 ultrasonic sensors across the city to track street-level flooding in real-time. Led by Associate Professor Andrea Silverman and Research Associate Professor Charlie Mydlarz, the $7 million project launched in 2020 after Hurricane Ida. Sensors emit ultrasonic pulses to measure flood height and transmit data to a public interactive map. The flow of information is "essentially in real time, or with a minute or two delay," Silverman explained about the system's capabilities.
