'How is that Spanish?': New York residents mock flood warning drones for speaking 'gibberish'

New York City emergency management officials have come under scrutiny after drones used to inform residents about emergency weather conditions ended up speaking gibberish Spanish.

The officials had touted the high-tech drones as the superior alternative to the bullhorn, often used to inform about an emergency. However, the video of the drone hovering over NY neighbourhoods showed that the warning was delivered in perfect English via the loudspeakers mounted on the device but the listeners could hardly comprehend the Spanish.

“How is THAT the Spanish version? It’s almost incomprehensible,” one user posted on X, while another commented: “Any Spanish-speaking NYer would do better.”

Watch the video of the drones delivering warning in 'incomprehensible' Spanish:

NYC Emergency Management just sent me a video of one of the drones warning residents about the storm and potential flooding. pic.twitter.com/xNL3mzkCTF — Elizabeth Kim (@lizkimtweets) August 6, 2024

After receiving flak online,Zach Iscol, the city’s emergency management commissioner, acknowledged the mistake, adding that it "shouldn't have happened".

"Thanks for flagging this. I’m very proud of the work our team has done preparing for this storm, but this shouldn’t have happened and we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again," Iscol posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Thanks for flagging this. I’m very proud of the work our team has done preparing for this storm, but this shouldn’t have happened and we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again. — Zach Iscol 🗽🍎 (@zachiscol) August 6, 2024

Afterwards, Iscol's agency explained that the problem was in the recording of the message, not the translation itself. The message was computer generated and went out in the flood-prone areas in four of the city’s five boroughs: Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Watch |New York: Extreme flooding prompts residents to evacuate, kills one

Flash floods warning

Flash floods have been deadly for New York residents, especially those living in the basement apartments. 11 people died in such homes in 2021 due to incessant rain brought by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

In September last year, a state of emergency was declared byGovernor Kathy Hochul as the flash floods disrupted the subway system and turned many of the streets into small lakes.

According to data, approximately 18 million people in the New York metropolitan area and in other major cities along the East Coast were caught in extreme weather conditions as delivering warnings proved to be a difficult task.

Since then, the city has come up with flash flood warning drones. According to Iscol, NY City Mayor Eric Adams came up with the initial idea.

(With inputs from agencies)