‘Flood Sensor Aunty’ Brings Basement Safety to Life Through Song, Skits, and Survival Tips
With hurricane season approaching, NYC Emergency Management is ramping up efforts to protect those most vulnerable – the thousands of New Yorkers living in basement units. And it’s doing so in a new and creative way.
Flood Sensor Aunty is a new performance that drew dozens of people in on April 26 to learn about the dangers of flooding. The play, produced by urban planner Sabina Sethi Unni, features educational comedic skits and dances and is part of a new approach targeting communities that are often missed.
Basement flooding hazards became a priority for New York City officials after Hurricane Ida claimed the lives of eleven people trapped in basement apartments in August 2021.
The thousands of basement units are often home for lower income families and undocumented individuals. Many of them are in Queens.
“It was a big wake up call that we need to change our messaging,” said Jill Cornell, Community Engagement Coordinator at NYC Emergency Management.
One of the city’s biggest challenges is communicating emergency awareness across cultures.
“It’s a very serious, visceral issue and our challenge is how do we communicate it in a way that encourages people to connect to their neighbors,” said Jill.
That’s why Sethi Unni created this play – to reach pillars of the South Asian community like aunties and eldest daughters, who can build strong networks of information.
“We’re trying to arm aunties who are already doing the work of disaster management with resources like flood alarms and go bags to keep themselves and their neighbors safe,” said Sethi Unni.
Awareness, however, is just one piece of the solution. Organizers like Matthew Sooknanan, from Chayya’s “Basement Apartments Safe for Everyone,” are pushing for legalizing these dwellings.
“Legalizing basements can prevent the loss of lives, but it also directly fights our housing crisis,” said Matthew. “People are already living in these units. It’s about making them safe and habitable.”
Recently, the New York City Council passed a bill legalizing basement dwelling in 15 community districts.
New Yorkers can text their zip code to NYC Emergency Management at 692-692 to stay up to date on emergency alerts in their neighborhood.
Rana is a reporter from Arizona covering climate change and immigration for City Newsroom. She previously lived in San Francisco and started her journalism career covering issues intersecting food, politics, and culture.
