The Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration are warning civilians and reporters in areas hit by Hurricane Florence to keep their drones out of the sky to avoid interfering with recovery efforts.
“Flying a drone without authorization in or near the disaster area may unintentionally disrupt rescue operations and violate federal, state, or local laws and ordinances, even if a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is not in place. Allow first responders to save lives and property without interference,” the department’s National Protection and Programs Directorate said in a statement Sunday.
The FAA added it will throw “significant fines” at anyone caught flying the unmanned aerial system, known as drones, around portions of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Drone transmissions can interfere with helicopter or plane’s transmissions, similar to how passengers on a commercial flight are told to power off their phones during take-off and landing.
The FAA is granting waivers to those who “want to support response and recovery operations.” However, each drone owner must reach out to a local incident commander at the agency’s System Operations Support Center for permission to fly in that region.
[Also read: NFL sees drones as rising threat to security, urges Congress to regulate]
