North Carolina to develop drone program to respond to natural disasters

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A federal grant will help state transportation officials create a program that guides the agency's use of drones when it responds to natural disasters like hurricanes.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the award of a $1.1 million grant to the N.C. Department of Transportation's Division of Aviation on Monday.

NCDOT was one of 47 recipients nationwide to receive a grant.

"This will make us better prepared for natural disasters. With what we saw during Helene, Florence and other natural disasters, when you're not able to use highway infrastructure to get goods and assets to an area, it seriously limits your ability to provide life-saving care and quick response to people in need," said Nick Short, interim director of NCDOT's Aviation Division.

Staff will use the grant to develop a program in which a drone can be placed in a community before a storm and then deployed remotely to start collecting images of damage and deliver emergency supplies.

While this program will be conducted in Lumberton, state aviation officials expect to evaluate the technology for disaster response deployment at other locations in North Carolina.

For more information on the federal grant program, click here.