Today, drones come in all variety of sizes and are used by people and organizations for different reasons. Some people play with drones for recreational fun, some use drones in a professional manner and some utilize drones just to get a better overall view of an area. In the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, authorization has been granted by the FAA to allow drones to fly over storm-devastated areas to act as eyes for crews on the ground working on recovery efforts. The only drones approved to fly over these areas are those under professional control.
Let’s ask a land surveyor in Idaho about how drones are able to help following hurricane destruction:
- Search and rescue efforts: Having an aerial view of storm-ravaged areas has been a great help in the recent and continuing search and rescue efforts. There’s only so much you can see from ground level. But with drone assistance, teams can see around crumbled buildings, fallen trees and tall piles of debris to locate people needing rescue, as well as spot damage to infrastructure.
- Power restoration: When the hurricanes where predicted to hit Houston and Florida, everyone knew that, without a doubt, there would be mass power outages that would take a long time to restore. How do drones help in power outage situations? After Irma, for example, drones were able to get into ravaged areas within hours of the storm to provide damage assessments.
- Land surveying: In order for the National Guard to get an idea of the devastation they were dealing with, drones performed aerial surveys to give real-time views of the land. Aerial views sent back from drones helped teams determine which areas were in need of assistance first.
- Infrastructure mapping and repair: Before any repairs can be made to buildings and other infrastructure that were damaged or destroyed by either hurricane, officials need to know what they are dealing with. Drones are sent up to map areas and send back information that can only be collected via an aerial perspective.
- Insurance claims: Destruction of this magnitude will keep insurance companies busy for a while. To help with insurance assessments, drones are deployed to gather images of what areas, buildings and properties look like after a destructive storm. Insurance adjusters use these current images and compare them to what an area looked like before a storm in order to get a more accurate assessment.
- Media coverage: So the world isn’t left sitting on the sidelines unaware of the damage left behind after the hurricanes—or any other major natural disaster, for that matter—drones can help the media air before-and-after footage of the storm.
Land surveying plays a big role in the civil engineering process. It is necessary when a client is in need of construction services, professional land development plans and other land projects. Whether you need a land surveyor in Idaho for a boundary survey or construction staking, rest assured that the experienced team at Mason & Associates can help. Call us for more information or to schedule a survey service today!