FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York City

Abstract Flooding is one of the most dangerous and costly natural hazards, and has a large impact on infrastructure, mobility, public health, and safety. Despite the disruptive impacts of flooding and predictions of increased flooding due to climate change, municipalities have little quantitative da...

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Main Authors: Charlie Mydlarz, Praneeth Sai Venkat Challagonda, Bea Steers, Jeremy Rucker, Tega Brain, Brett Branco, Hannah E. Burnett, Amanpreet Kaur, Rebecca Fischman, Kathryn Graziano, Kendra Krueger, Elizabeth Hénaff, Véronëque Ignace, Erika Jozwiak, Jatin Palchuri, Polly Pierone, Paul Rothman, Ricardo Toledo‐Crow, Andrea I. Silverman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-05-01
Series:Water Resources Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036806
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author Charlie Mydlarz
Praneeth Sai Venkat Challagonda
Bea Steers
Jeremy Rucker
Tega Brain
Brett Branco
Hannah E. Burnett
Amanpreet Kaur
Rebecca Fischman
Kathryn Graziano
Kendra Krueger
Elizabeth Hénaff
Véronëque Ignace
Erika Jozwiak
Jatin Palchuri
Polly Pierone
Paul Rothman
Ricardo Toledo‐Crow
Andrea I. Silverman
author_facet Charlie Mydlarz
Praneeth Sai Venkat Challagonda
Bea Steers
Jeremy Rucker
Tega Brain
Brett Branco
Hannah E. Burnett
Amanpreet Kaur
Rebecca Fischman
Kathryn Graziano
Kendra Krueger
Elizabeth Hénaff
Véronëque Ignace
Erika Jozwiak
Jatin Palchuri
Polly Pierone
Paul Rothman
Ricardo Toledo‐Crow
Andrea I. Silverman
author_sort Charlie Mydlarz
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Flooding is one of the most dangerous and costly natural hazards, and has a large impact on infrastructure, mobility, public health, and safety. Despite the disruptive impacts of flooding and predictions of increased flooding due to climate change, municipalities have little quantitative data available on the occurrence, frequency, or extent of urban floods. To address this, we have been designing, building, and deploying low‐cost, ultrasonic sensors to systematically collect data on the presence, depth, and duration of street‐level floods in New York City (NYC), through a project called FloodNet. FloodNet is a partnership between academic researchers and NYC municipal agencies, working in consultation with residents and community organizations. FloodNet sensors are designed to be compact, rugged, low‐cost, and deployed in a manner that is independent of existing power and network infrastructure. These requirements were implemented to allow deployment of a hyperlocal, city‐wide sensor network, given that urban floods often occur in a distributed manner due to local variations in land development, population density, sewer design, and topology. Thus far, 87 FloodNet sensors have been installed across the five boroughs of NYC. These sensors have recorded flood events caused by high tides, stormwater runoff, storm surge, and extreme precipitation events, illustrating the feasibility of collecting data that can be used by multiple stakeholders for flood resiliency planning and emergency response.
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publishDate 2024-05-01
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spelling doaj-art-3930a65d71f347478b9c8697c3899bb52025-08-20T03:30:56ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732024-05-01605n/an/a10.1029/2023WR036806FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York CityCharlie Mydlarz0Praneeth Sai Venkat Challagonda1Bea Steers2Jeremy Rucker3Tega Brain4Brett Branco5Hannah E. Burnett6Amanpreet Kaur7Rebecca Fischman8Kathryn Graziano9Kendra Krueger10Elizabeth Hénaff11Véronëque Ignace12Erika Jozwiak13Jatin Palchuri14Polly Pierone15Paul Rothman16Ricardo Toledo‐Crow17Andrea I. Silverman18Center for Urban Science and Progress NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USAAdvanced Science Research Center City University of New York New York NY USACenter for Urban Science and Progress NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USACenter for Urban Science and Progress NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USAIntegrated Design and Media NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USAScience and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay Brooklyn College Brooklyn NY USADepartment of Technology, Culture, and Society NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USACenter for Urban Science and Progress NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USANew York City Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice New York NY USANew York Sea Grant Cornell University Ithaca NY USAAdvanced Science Research Center City University of New York New York NY USACenter for Urban Science and Progress NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USAScience and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay Brooklyn College Brooklyn NY USANew York City Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice New York NY USACenter for Urban Science and Progress NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USAScience and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay Brooklyn College Brooklyn NY USANew York City Office of Technology and Innovation New York NY USAAdvanced Science Research Center City University of New York New York NY USACenter for Urban Science and Progress NYU Tandon School of Engineering Brooklyn NY USAAbstract Flooding is one of the most dangerous and costly natural hazards, and has a large impact on infrastructure, mobility, public health, and safety. Despite the disruptive impacts of flooding and predictions of increased flooding due to climate change, municipalities have little quantitative data available on the occurrence, frequency, or extent of urban floods. To address this, we have been designing, building, and deploying low‐cost, ultrasonic sensors to systematically collect data on the presence, depth, and duration of street‐level floods in New York City (NYC), through a project called FloodNet. FloodNet is a partnership between academic researchers and NYC municipal agencies, working in consultation with residents and community organizations. FloodNet sensors are designed to be compact, rugged, low‐cost, and deployed in a manner that is independent of existing power and network infrastructure. These requirements were implemented to allow deployment of a hyperlocal, city‐wide sensor network, given that urban floods often occur in a distributed manner due to local variations in land development, population density, sewer design, and topology. Thus far, 87 FloodNet sensors have been installed across the five boroughs of NYC. These sensors have recorded flood events caused by high tides, stormwater runoff, storm surge, and extreme precipitation events, illustrating the feasibility of collecting data that can be used by multiple stakeholders for flood resiliency planning and emergency response.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036806sensor networkfloodfloodingcommunitystreet level floodingurban
spellingShingle Charlie Mydlarz
Praneeth Sai Venkat Challagonda
Bea Steers
Jeremy Rucker
Tega Brain
Brett Branco
Hannah E. Burnett
Amanpreet Kaur
Rebecca Fischman
Kathryn Graziano
Kendra Krueger
Elizabeth Hénaff
Véronëque Ignace
Erika Jozwiak
Jatin Palchuri
Polly Pierone
Paul Rothman
Ricardo Toledo‐Crow
Andrea I. Silverman
FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York City
Water Resources Research
sensor network
flood
flooding
community
street level flooding
urban
title FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York City
title_full FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York City
title_fullStr FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York City
title_full_unstemmed FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York City
title_short FloodNet: Low‐Cost Ultrasonic Sensors for Real‐Time Measurement of Hyperlocal, Street‐Level Floods in New York City
title_sort floodnet low cost ultrasonic sensors for real time measurement of hyperlocal street level floods in new york city
topic sensor network
flood
flooding
community
street level flooding
urban
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036806
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