BOTETOURT CO., Va. – Flooding and rainwater have been a consistent thorn in the side of the Botetourt County Fire and EMS.
Now, they have a new device to combat the floods with their new ultrasonic river sensors.
“It puts everything on a map and so it gives us a visualization of the flood indication so we know exactly what areas it’s going to affect and what houses it may get into and what houses it’s going to be close and things like that,” Botetourt County Emergency Manager Daniel Murray said.
These sensors take real-time data and information from the National Weather Service to predict when a flood could happen hours before they could happen.
There are 12 of these solar-powered sensors that monitor the creeks and streams of Botetourt County.
“Basically, the way it works is every 15 minutes it sends a pulse to measure the distance between the sensor and the water,” Murray said. “Then of course they have it calibrated when there’s less distance so we know how high the water is.”
This data is used by every public safety agency.
“We use it for our sheriff’s office and our fire and EMS and our emergency management,” Murray said. “We take that data and we turn it around and let folks know if there is something that needs to happen.”
If you live in Botetourt County, you can sign up for alerts through Everbridge, the county’s emergency alert program to warn you of any imminent danger, including flooding.