Fall NEARC 2024

Severe flood events had major impacts on Vermont in July 2023 and July 2024. The UVM UAS Team carried out more than 350 missions in support of rapid response and long-term recovery efforts after these events, deploying a wide range of UAS platforms and sensors to capture critical and timely data. This presentation will discuss the benefits, applications, challenges, and lessons learned from these efforts to inform the future of how UAS technology can be best applied to the next severe weather events in the Northeast, as well as the opportunities for training emergency responders and geospatial professionals on how to begin to use UAS to aid their efforts.

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The University of Vermont is a core-member of the FAA’s ASSURE research center of excellence, which focuses on the integration of UAS into the national airspace. Within ASSURE, UVM’s research focus areas have centered around the application of UAS technology for disaster and emergency response. UVM’s UAS program began in the years following the impacts of Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and has remained at the forefront of using these technologies to enhance the efficiency for disaster response. UVM was the first organization in the country to respond to a train derailment with UAS and has captured data of tornados, microburst, ice jams, floods, and landslides throughout the state.