FARGO, N.D. — As the swollen Red River threatened Fargo this spring, thousands of eyes were trained on the city’s sandbag walls. But just in case the townspeople missed something, the eye in the sky was watching, too.
A Predator drone of the sort used by the U.S. military was sent up three times in recent weeks to give officials a view of the floodwaters, marking the first time one of the remote-controlled planes has been used for flood-fighting in the U.S.
Equipped with radar and infrared cameras that can see in the dark and peer through clouds, the aircraft provided detailed, real-time video images of ice floes, flood patterns and any trouble spots along the levees.
Experts said some of the Predator’s sorties over North Dakota lasted 11 or 12 hours, meaning the mission doesn’t need to be stopped to refuel.
And because the Predator is unmanned, no pilots had to risk their lives in bad weather. Also, the streaming video could be instantly downloaded to command centers.
A Predator drone of the sort used by the U.S. military was sent up three times in recent weeks to give officials a view of the floodwaters, marking the first time one of the remote-controlled planes has been used for flood-fighting in the U.S.
Equipped with radar and infrared cameras that can see in the dark and peer through clouds, the aircraft provided detailed, real-time video images of ice floes, flood patterns and any trouble spots along the levees.
Experts said some of the Predator’s sorties over North Dakota lasted 11 or 12 hours, meaning the mission doesn’t need to be stopped to refuel.
And because the Predator is unmanned, no pilots had to risk their lives in bad weather. Also, the streaming video could be instantly downloaded to command centers.
by the associated press
