New York City has launched a new drone warning system to warn residents of dangerous weather conditions. Unfortunately, the drones need to work on their Spanish.
A resident saw one of the new drones issuing a flood warning Wednesday in the NYC area in English and Spanish, but the Spanish words from the drones were “unintelligible,” according to a resident who shared .
As a native Spanish speaker, I can confidently say that this is incomprehensible. The city couldn’t find a single Spanish speaker to deliver this warning? https://t.co/uI9ERCuDmV
— Josefa Velásquez (@J__Velasquez) August 6, 2024
The drones had no problem issuing a weather warning in English as they delivered news about the incoming heavy rain in a clear and distinguishable voice. The Spanish message, however, sounded like a robot speaking the language for the first time.
Zach Iscol, commissioner of the NYC Department of Emergency Management, responded.
“I am very proud of the work our team did in preparing for this storm, but this should not have happened and we will make sure it does not happen again,” Iscol wrote in response.
published a story on Tuesday about a new emergency warning drone system. The city sent emergency helicopters into the communities around 1:00 p.m. to alert residents of the heavy rain that was headed their way. Iscol told this newspaper that NYC Mayor Eric Adams came up with the idea of using drones as a new part of his warning system. Adams developed similar, high-tech systems in his time like those that guarded the Times Square subway station, and the controversial “Digidog,” for the New York Police Department to use in dangerous situations like stopping kidnappers.
