Living in certain parts of the world, natural disasters like hurricanes are a fact of life. But those facts didn’t make life any easier for residents struggling after a storm.
In the race to rebuild after a hurricane, speed matters. So anything that could help get people back on their feet and back in their homes is a boon to recovery efforts. That’s where Omar comes in. He’s a drone pilot, using the latest in vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) technology to drastically speed up recovery efforts.
Damage assessments have typically been a slow, expensive, and unsafe process. Several workers would visit a site, manually take notes, and capture photographs—often in dangerous conditions that required the use of ladders and cranes. It could take an assessment team of five to six people up to two days to complete a single assessment.
With drone technology, Omar and his team can conduct two to three site inspections a day, all while keeping staff safe on the ground. The team uses drones to collect video, photos, 3D scans, and thermal imagery from damaged structures that would be unsafe to enter on foot. The increased accuracy of remote sensing and data collection also helps speed the release of recovery funding from agencies like FEMA and HUD.
Beyond the numbers, this is personal for Omar. He’s from Puerto Rico and was finishing a master’s degree in oceanography just before Hurricane Maria made landfall. The hurricane changed his life and his career path.
“I learned that ICF was building a local team for the recovery effort, and I reached out about becoming a drone pilot. I combined my passion for helping others and using drone technology for a new career in disaster management.”
The same drone technology that Omar had started using in his marine research was now a crucial tool for the island’s recovery. He joined a team of drone pilots at ICF conducting damage assessments of buildings across the island.
Within a year, Omar and the ICF disaster management team completed over 1,200 site inspections, and were the first team in the R3 (Single-Family Repair, Reconstruction, or Relocation) program to complete repair or reconstruction on 2,000 homes in Puerto Rico. This means 2,000 formerly dislocated families have returned to permanent housing.
Today, Omar continues to use his skills and passion to help other disaster-prone regions. He and the ICF drone team have been on the ground helping to assess damage after four recent hurricanes in Louisiana.
More than just operating a joystick, Omar is a talented pilot guiding local communities to a smooth landing after natural disasters.
