Verizon installing 50 flood sensors in Chicago to provide real-time alerts about flash flooding

Only days after intense rain flooded out streets and homes on the South and Southwest sides of Chicago, the city plans to launch a new high-tech system to warn people about flash flooding.

The city, Verizon, Hyfi, and the Center for Neighborhood Technology are teaming up to deploy 50 flood sensors across the city to provide city officials, first responders, and residents real-time alerts via an app.

The sensors will be launched in Chicago on Aug. 11, although it's unclear how soon Chicagoans could begin registering for real-time alerts on their phones about flooding.

The announcement comes just days after a line of thunderstorms brought up to six inches of rain in less than two hours in the Bridgeport neighborhood and other parts of the South and Southwest sides on Friday.