Plan To Assist With Hurricane Relief, SAR Efforts

With the damage from Hurricane Harvey expected to affect the Houston and surrounding areas possibly for months, a group of drone operators from Colorado is heading to Texas to assist with disaster assessments for the Red Cross. But such efforts cost money, and the pilots have turned to GoFundMe to help offset the expenses of their work.

According to the GoFundMe page established by Mark Blacklin of Ft. Collins, CO, a group of four drone operators are headed to Houston to assist the Red Cross. "They are bringing their UAVs with them, and they have authorization to fly in the area under an emergency FAA waiver," Blacklin writes on the page. "This is a Red Cross requested mission and the team has a space in the command center to coordinate its efforts with pilot teams. The team lead was told by the head of DA they desperately need the data that only our drones can provide. This is truly drones for good.

"They need our help though - they have nowhere currently lined up to stay, and have no method of generating their own power. They need to purchase a generator and rent an RV ASAP. If you could donate a few dollars to help their cause, we'd be forever grateful, and you could know that they are directly assisting the people of Houston under direction of the Red Cross.

"(All) of the proceeds from this GoFundMe will be donated to their cause, to use as they best see fit. They may need to rent an RV, they may need to buy a generator, they may need money for hotels or even drone batteries. All extra funds will be donated to the Red Cross."

The campaign hit its stated goal of $2,000 in 17 hours, but remains open for additional donations.

FMI: GoFundMe page