Sonoran Desert Institute Trains the Next Generation of Drone Operators for Disaster Response

Drones Are Becoming Essential Tools in Disaster Recovery and Preparedness

By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill

Drones are increasingly being deployed as a lifesaving tool in the response to natural disasters – as evidenced by the role UAVs have played in responding to a series of highly destructive hurricanes in the U.S. Southeast, and wildfires across the West.

Helping to train the next generation of drone operators to respond to future disasters is the job of James McDanolds, program chair at Sonoran Desert Institute, an online school based in Tempe, Arizona. McDanolds, who trained as a cadet with the Civil Air Patrol, is well versed in the use of aviation assets in search and rescue operations in the wake of a disaster.

“As far as the use of drones for disaster response, I’ve been involved in a few things, but, now as the technology advances, there’s even more that can be done with that,” he said. “It’s really great to see and I really think that they’re an essential tool when we’re talking about disaster response.”

The school, which began offering its Certificate in Unmanned Technology – Aerial Systems program in 2021, recently launched its newest program, the Associate of Science in Uncrewed Technology degree. The programs help students learn valuable skills that could translate well in disaster response situations, such as 3D mapping, the use of thermography and canopy-penetrating LiDAR, as well as the use of drones in search and rescue operations. SDI is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC.org).

In 2015, McDanolds rejoined the civil air patrol in Eastern Pennsylvania as a senior member to help integrate small drones into a local squadron in San Angelo Texas for Search and Rescue. He was working as a drone operator for a private company in 2016 who responded to the Louisiana floods.

Recent technological innovations, such as mapping overlay software developed by Skydio, allow emergency responders to track the destructive path of tornadoes that have torn through the countryside. As drone technology advances, UAVs also are being used to deliver food and medical supplies to people trapped by floods or mudslides, as well as deliver needed equipment to first responders on the ground.

Drones are also increasingly being used as preparation tools before a disaster strikes, McDanolds said. Technology such as 3D mapping and LiDAR can help identify the creation of new flood-prone zones and even help prevent disasters by assessing the vulnerability of dams and levees to potential ruptures. Drones can also be deployed to conduct inspections of other pieces of critical infrastructure, such as roadways and bridges, that could be impacted by floods and landslides.

Agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have long used UAVs equipped with weather measuring instruments, known as aerosondes, to fly into hurricanes to gauge the storms’ strength and direction.

McDanolds said that for drone operators wishing to lend their equipment and expertise to disaster response effort, cooperation with emergency management officials is the key. Companies that have UAVs in their fleets that could be useful in disaster response operations should contact emergency management agencies in their local area to take part in disaster management planning.

“That relationship can be built and prepared beforehand,” he said. Establishing such public/private partnerships is important, not just for large private companies, but for the smaller local drone operators as well “who want to be better prepared, better trained, or be able to help when those disasters strike.”

Prior to taking his current job, McDanolds worked with a company that took part in such pre-planning efforts with local officials. “Before we received the call to respond, there was a clear understanding of ‘Here’s what we have to use as a tool, and here’s what we’re able to commit to as part of a response,’” he said.

But with recent cataclysmic events, such as the two devastating hurricanes that slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast in recent weeks, many private drone operators have sought ways to lend their support, even those that hadn’t been involved in previous disaster recovery training. This was particularly true in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which caused landslides and mudslides in remote mountainous regions of the southeastern U.S.

“There’re individuals who have large multi-copter drones that are volunteering to use them to carry much-needed supplies over ridges and mountain ways to make sure that individuals can get the supplies needed,” he said. “They need those supplies sooner rather than later.”

Some volunteer drone operators used drones to act as mobile relays to extend lines of communication, not just to allow human-to-human communication but to aid in drone telemetry as well, he said.

In the case of drone operators who show up at a disaster scene to lend their support, McDanolds again stressed the need for private UAV pilots to work together with the emergency response managers on the scene of a disaster.

“You don’t want just anyone showing up to a disaster response area and trying to help. When you’re working in a disaster response area, there’s a lot going on,” he said. “There could be a multitude of different manned aircraft as well as unmanned aircraft in the area. And we need to understand that structure, understanding that we can’t necessarily just show up out of the blue and say, ‘Hey, I want to fly. I want to help.’”

Read more:

Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.