This NC company's drones are helping survey Florence damage in hard-hit areas

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Raleigh drone developer PrecisionHawk is deploying its aerial robots over flooded roadways, backing up N.C. Department of Transportation crews as they assess the damage from Hurricane Florence.

[GALLERY: Storm-related damage across the Charlotte area]

“We officially started this operation Monday,” says Glady Singh, vice president of enterprise services with PrecisionHawk, who is leading the operation for the company. “We’ve got three teams and are probably adding more two-person site teams.”

Right now, it’s scheduled to be a 14-day mission.

[PHOTOS: Chopper 9 over flooding, damage after Florence barreled through]

“However, with the initial set of flights, we can see that this damage and debris removal is going to be much more long-term in nature, so that may drive future decisions … for a longer duration,” she says.

The drones act as NCDOT’s eyes in the skies, and the data and video they are sending back is helping the agency plan its response.

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