NEW YORK – Your photos of coastal New York flooding could save lives and prevent future property damage, thanks to a new high-tech initiative.
The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation announced that NY Sea Grant has launched MyCoast NY, an online portal to collect and analyze photos of flooding and storm damage.
Currently used in nine states, MyCoast is a system that helps coastal environmental agencies use citizen scientists to track coastal data.
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When a photo report is submitted, it will automatically be linked to the nearest weather, river/lake/tide data to provide context for the photo, and then posted to the MyCoast NY website for anyone to see. See the article : Athletes to be honored at picnic | News, sports, jobs.
Anyone can submit a photo of local flooding and storm damage. Photo reports can be submitted via an app or on the website, both of which require registration.
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The new system will initially offer two main tools. The “High Water” feature will track any type of flooding across the state, including riverine, coastal and shallow flooding, such as flooding from stormwater overflows and poor urban drainage. See the article : Students find their voice ‘through the arts’ News, Sports, Jobs. The “Storm Reporter” feature will document storm damage across New York.
A third tool called CoastSnap will soon be added to capture the changing shoreline.
The hope is that the information gained will help property owners, government officials and forecasters better understand when, where and why devastating floods are likely to occur.
The two-year pilot project, which began on July 1, 2022 and will run through June 30, 2024, is being funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Sea Grant Office and the Water Resources Institute of the State University of New York Cornell.
You can participate by visiting the website or downloading the app for iPhone or Android.