Unlike traditional models, Hyfi flood sensors use sonar technology to measure water levels. They send an acoustic pulse downward, bouncing it off the water’s surface to calculate the exact depth in seconds. This level of precision gives city officials, emergency responders and residents critical early warnings, allowing them to take action well before traditional methods would have provided warnings. The sensor units are also compact and modular and able to be fitted with traditional hardware to existing infrastructure, making them quick and easy to install at scale and to remove for repair or replacement.
Verizon first encountered this new technology three years ago when Hyfi applied for the inaugural Verizon Disaster Resilience Prize. Hyfi was awarded funding and mentorship to scale their business, and the partnership led to the development of this flood sensor initiative, built to tackle a growing national need.
“Flooding is the most deadly and destructive of natural disasters,” says Hyfi CEO and co-founder Brandon Wong. “It affects all communities across the United States, and there is little to no real-time information to provide an early warning for communities and their citizens.”
Supporting the most vulnerable in the community is what lies at the heart of all Verizon Disaster Resilience programs. Flooding disproportionately affects low-income communities, where aging infrastructure, financial insecurity and limited access to emergency resources can make recovery difficult. That’s why, in addition to the flood sensors, Verizon and UWSELA are equipping residents with the tools and training needed to know how to better prepare and recover more quickly from disasters.
“A natural disaster is traumatic because you don’t know what sort of damage will be done to your property,” says Michael Williamson, UWSELA president and CEO. “But also knowing that you can’t afford to get your loved ones, your pets — all the things you care about — to a place of safety and security is extremely stressful.” Through preparedness workshops, flood education sessions and community-driven decision-making, Verizon and UWSELA are ensuring that residents are informed and actively involved in shaping solutions.
“With the flood sensor initiative, Verizon asked for everyone’s opinion — the entire city of New Orleans, community members, local officials,” Clark says. “It’s something you take pride in. [T]hey value us in New Orleans. They value the residents and understand that we need to be here.”
And the benefits go beyond disaster response. By providing real-time data over the long term, these sensors could change how New Orleans plans for the future, helping officials pinpoint infrastructure weaknesses and design smarter solutions.
Austin Feldbaum, director of hazard mitigation for the city of New Orleans, explains, “We hope that with these longer-term data sets in hand, we’ll be able to use that to develop predictive models that will improve our ability to understand what the problems are with our existing infrastructure and then design solutions.”
New Orleans is just the beginning.
“Disasters are becoming more and more common, and we all live and work in these communities,” says Carrie Hughes, associate vice president of social innovation programs and operations at Verizon. “We really want to capitalize on our company’s history of responding to disasters to help our network, but also to help the community and provide them with the technology and the resources they need to better prepare for, get through and recover from these increasing natural disasters.”
For more information and to learn more, visit Verizon Disaster Resilience.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) powers and empowers how its millions of customers live, work and play, delivering on their demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity and security. Headquartered in New York City, serving countries worldwide and nearly all of the Fortune 500, Verizon generated revenues of $134.0 billion in 2023. Verizon’s world-class team never stops innovating to meet customers where they are today and equip them for the needs of tomorrow. For more, visit verizon.com or find a retail location at verizon.com/stores.
