FLOOD SENSOR AUNTY
A municipal comedy about a flood sensor with movie star dreams, and the chai shop block that becomes an unlikely classroom for citywide flood preparedness.
Flood Sensor Aunty is a municipal comedy about a flood sensor who wants to be a movie star, but is stuck keeping her aunt’s chai shop afloat. Rain gods clog the bathroom pipes. Permit inspectors fall in love. The show lands halfway between really funny theater and culturally competent community disaster prevention.
The big idea is simple. The best way to protect yourself from flooding, climate change, and despair is by knowing your neighbors. The project was built in deep partnership with Rebuild by Design and other community partners across the city.
Flood Sensor Aunty meets people where they are, in chai shops, on boats, in parks. The performances pair public education with real take-home resources, so the show doubles as a flood preparedness kit.
The play travels citywide and though for everyone, specifically targets Aunties, high flood-risk neighborhoods, basement apartment residents, and South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities.
The project proves that community disaster prevention can be funny, culturally specific, and deeply local. Audiences leave with bellies full of chai, headlamps for the next blackout, and a stronger sense of the neighbors around them.
THE OUTCOMES
We reached thousands of audience members, and handed out free go-bags, flood alarms, headlamps, and cups of chai to community members who need them."
ON the ground
LOOKING AHEAD: What's next for flood sensor aunty?
Over the next 6 to 12 months, Flood Sensor Aunty returns to public spaces across the city with new storylines and new characters.
In September 2026 for Climate Week, the site-specific play tours select public spaces across NYC. Audiences can expect music, laughs, and resources about flooding, heavy rainfall, and sewage.
Want to get involved with flood sensor aunty?
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GET INVOLVED IN RAINPROOF NYC
We each have a role to play in Rainproof.
Rainproof NYC is where all stakeholders learn from each other and act collectively to tackle increasingly heavy rainfall and flash floods.The growing Rainproof NYC network brings together community groups, city officials, technical experts, policy advocates, private sector partners, educators, and more to understand and address flooding in NYC.
Ways you can get involved include:
- Stay updated on new pilot projects, events, and funding opportunities.
- Collaborate with the Rainproof NYC Network.
- Join a Rainproof Event.
- Learn from other cities in our Rainproof Series.
- Participate in or Pilot Rainproof NYC Projects.
- Share Rainproof Resources & Expertise.