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CAP assessing hurricane impact in Florida
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As Florida copes with the impact with two major hurricanes and prepares for a third, Civil Air Patrol supports emergency responders with the Satellite-transmitted Digital Imaging System.
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| Civil Air Patrol, the all-civilian auxiliary of the Air Force, is demonstrating the value of a trained volunteer workforce. |
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| CAP members are working federal missions both in the air and on the ground in Florida’s Hurricane Frances-ravaged areas, taking digital photographs of damage to help officials better plan their relief efforts. CAP officials estimate that more than 180 CAP members will be working in Florida for these missions. After only one day of aerial missions, CAP had already flown more than 45 hours to support hurricane relief efforts. |
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| “Many people don’t realize how many people volunteer their time to help when a disaster strikes,” said Maj. Gen. Dwight Wheless, CAP national commander. “Civil Air Patrol is an organization that gives volunteers the necessary training and tools to provide important services to emergency management agencies.” Wheless says CAP members are trained not only to fly aircraft, but to mount ground searches and to use special equipment to capture and transmit digital images of damaged areas in near real-time. |
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| The technology includes satellite-transmitted digital imaging systems. Using SDIS, CAP members can capture images from the air with a digital camera, and quickly transmit the images with an onboard laptop computer via e-mail and satellite phone. The transmission can occur in near real-time, allowing emergency operations centers to better plan assistance for disaster victims and assess property damage. |
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| According to Maj. Chip Maher, CAP’s liaison with Florida emergency management agencies in Tallahassee, CAP has played an especially important role in assessing the impact of Frances in the Florida panhandle. “So many state assets have been needed in the southern part of the state that CAP has been especially assessing the hurricane’s impact in the panhandle,” Maher said. “We’re continuing to bring in CAP planes, crews and personnel from other states to perform ground and aerial missions as they’re assigned to us." |
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| CAP owns a fleet of some 550 single-engine aircraft, including Cessna 172s, 182s and 206s. CAP is currently flying seven of these aircraft in Florida, including three specialized SDIS aircraft that were already in the state and three more that have been flown in from CAP’s Great Lakes, Northeast and Middle East CAP regions. CAP is also supplying radio communications systems and ground vehicles as needed for emergency management missions. |
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The CAP National Operations Center at Maxwell AFB, Ala. is coordinating the transfer of aircraft, vehicles and personnel for all hurricane-related missions. CAP is operating under the direction of the Air Force National Security Emergency Preparedness Agency and with the support of 1st Air Force under the U.S. Northern Command.
CAP members will continue ground and aerial impact assessment of damage from hurricanes Charley and Frances even as they prepare for the approach of Hurricane Ivan. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Civil Air Patrol Home Page Civil Air Patrol Operations Home Page Civil Air Patrol Media Coverage |
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