Gone is the bullhorn. Instead, New York City emergency management officials have turned high-tech, using drones to warn residents about potential threatening weather.

With a buzzing sound in the background, a drone equipped with a loudspeaker flies over homes warning people who live in basement or ground-floor apartments about impending heavy rains.

“Be prepared to leave your location,” said the voice from the sky in footage released Tuesday by the city’s emergency management agency. “If flooding occurs, do not hesitate.”

  • ChocoboRocket@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    My tinfoil hat theory is that Drones are far better at mass surveillance than current emergency alert systems, so while the advantage over the existing emergency alert system is probably negligible - it opens the door for people accepting having drones everywhere and constantly overhead which is the real goal.

    For a second layer of tinfoil, having a strong drone presence (production, infrastructure, technology) in the economy seems like it will be very useful for future wars. Whoever has the largest and smartest swarm wins

    • Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      3 months ago

      For slightly less tinfoil haberdashery, it could be used to more rapidly locate people during a weather disaster, identify what areas are most heavily impacted in real-time, and redirect emergency services in case of, say, debris blocking a road.

      This is of course assuming it’s not the cheapest shit the highest bidder offers (which it probably will be) that disintegrates during a light rain.