Puerto Rico’s damaged infrastructure has caught the attention of Google, Tesla and other firms that are pitching ideas such as cellular-signal-relaying balloons and off-grid power distribution.
Many Puerto Ricans are living without reliable power, water and cellular coverage as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers implements a temporary relief system for critical infrastructure and works to stabilize the spillway of a hurricane-damaged dam.
Power has been restored to about 5% of customers in Puerto Rico after nearly all of the island’s 1.57 million customers were left in the dark on Sept. 20, when Hurricane Maria left the power grid in shambles.
Critics from industry and academia are raising questions about a study from the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School about the true cost of large hydropower dams.
In an effort to prevent train accidents on a new $2.3-billion, 10-mile-long extension line in San Francisco, the Berryessa-Valley Transportation Authority/Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) team is installing a railroad intrusion-detection system (RIDS) that uses warning devices originally developed for protecting shipping ports from break-ins.
Social media, mobile devices, apps and drones are finding new roles helping stakeholders—such as construction companies and their personnel and jobsites—who have assets at risk when they confront shifting disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires.