Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Applications and Integration into Hazard Mitigation Planning

Abstract Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (also referred to as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAVs), or drones) operations, focused on natural hazards, have experienced rapid expansion in the last decade. UAS uses before, during, and after natural hazard events, provide value for emergency management operations (e.g. Search-and-Rescue (SAR)), and post-event analytics. The Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) manages UAS programs for public safety and emergency response activities in New York State. They also have the first FEMA-approved, locally adopted, web-based, interactive Hazard Mitigation Plans (HMPs). With recent advances in communication technologies (e.g. 5G), opportunities are emerging to establish a stewardship role to maximize regionwide UAS operations, including preparing for catastrophic natural hazards (e.g. earthquakes, hurricanes), leveraging existing HMPs, and incorporating new machine-learning techniques to use swarming networks before, during, and after a natural hazard event. A variety of stewardship approaches are discussed.