MIAMI, FL — Hurricane Dorian may be out of the picture, but this year’s hurricane season is far from over. In fact, forecasters say Tuesday represented the peak of the Atlantic season, which runs between June 1 and Nov. 30.
“Sept. 10 is climatologically peak of the hurricane season,” explained Larry Kelly of the National Weather Service in Miami. “It doesn’t mean there’s a greater chance (of having a hurricane) just a climatological average. We’re at the peak of the season.” See also Florida Sending 10 Truckloads Of Stockpiled Water To Bahamas
Dennis Feltgen with the National Hurricane Center in Miami said forecasters looked at more than 100 years of data to determine the peak day.
“Going back through the official record — 1851-present day — today is the day during the six-month hurricane season that a tropical storm or hurricane is present somewhere in the Atlantic basin,” added Feltgen.
While Florida was spared the full wrath of Hurricane Dorian’s 185 mph winds, there’s always a next hurricane to worry about in the Sunshine State and first responders must be ready.
This hurricane season, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is combining new drone technology with something old to speed up the arduous process of finding people who need help in the hours and days following a major weather event.
If a hurricane strikes any part of Miami-Dade County, residents will be instructed to place hotel-like door hangers on their doorknobs to let first responders quickly determine who needs help thanks to the birds-eye vantage of drone technology.
During a recent demonstration Miami-Dade first responders began receiving real-time intelligence over the high-pitched whirring sound of the drone’s propellers within seconds of the miniature aircraft lifting off from its portable orange launch pad.
One side of the door hanger was red with the word “help” printed on it while the other side was green with the word “OK.” They were distributed to every household prior to the start of hurricane season.
The drone hovers about 20 to 25 feet above ground as an operator looks for red tags on a portable tablet.
Watch the drone in action below courtesy Miami-Dade Fire Rescue:
“We have a red in 101,” a voice over the radio said as the drone passed by a simulated three-story apartment building adorned with door tags. “We have a red in 303. We have a red in 207.”
The reds represent people who need assistance while the greens represent people who don’t. Even homes without the tags will be checked for signs of trouble. The drones can cover more ground in less time than traditional ground crews, especially when roads are impassable.
Working in two-person teams along with visual observers, drone pilots created a library of images from around the county prior to the start of the 2019 hurricane season. When a hurricane does hit the county, the teams can go back and compare the old images to post-hurricane images. This will help the agency deploy emergency resources where they are most needed.
“Some of them do have zoom capabilities. Some of them do have infrared capabilities,” said Capt. Andres Liriano of the drones.
Liriano, the lead drone pilot with the agency, told Patch that weather poses the biggest obstacle for drones.
“Some of them are not weatherproof,” he said. “Our biggest downfall sometimes is the weather — windy, torrential downpours, lightning.”
Miami-Dade has two teams of drone units with 22 FAA-certified members and eight drones.
“They’re all equipped with high resolution cameras whether it be video or still images,” Liriano said. “It also has the ability to locate the exact location of where you are at, so you are able to drop a pin and send those coordinates back to whoever need be.”
Unlike conventional aircraft, drones don’t need to refuel, which is another plus.
“It’s very simple to do an aerial reconnaissance as we call it, come back and do a hot battery swap and go right back in the air,” Liriano explained.
He said the door hangers can be used by the drones but also by traditional ground teams if the drones are being used elsewhere. One drone can cover the same one-block area in five minutes that it takes conventional crews about an hour to cover. “They were designed with the idea they would be easy to spot from a distance,” he said of the door hangers.
Having been a firefighter for 14 years, Liriano said he sees the potential for drones to also help firefighters on the ground. They have already been used in about 40 wildfires and structural fires.
“With the heat sensing technology, we’re able to keep an eye on the firefighters when they go in and when they go out” of a structure, he said. “We’re able to track when they come out if they’re overheated without them sometimes noticing it because of all of their protective gear.”
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