The technology began being used after Hurricane Michael and now is helping clean up Hurricane Ian. NBC 6’s Heather Walker reports
It’s been six months since Hurricane Ian wrecked the west coast of Florida. Clean-up continues, but technology is speeding up the process and making it safer.
The technology that was being used after Hurricane Michael and now is helping clean up Hurricane Ian.
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Sonar equipment and radio-controlled boats are helping to locate thousands of pieces of debris hidden in the water.
“Construction equipment. There were either full or partial roofs that were submerged; cars, boats pretty much anything that could have been uprooted from the storm,” said Capt. Adam Feiner with Pembroke Pines Police Department.
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Gulf Coast State College in Panama City created a program called TEMPEST. The state of Florida partnered the college with local law enforcement like Fort Lauderdale Police, the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Pembroke Pines Police. Together using the latest technology they find debris hidden under the water and remove it.
“It’s essentially an RC boat. A radio-controlled boat and they can get it into narrow waterways or shallow waterways, where we could get a better picture of what the ground looked like and what debris was there without the risk to the watercraft to have to drive in there,” explained David Thomasee, the Executive Director of Operations at Gulf Coast State College.
Using unmanned boats, a piece of equipment called a tow-fish and side sonar, crews can safely find the items that need to be removed.
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“It’s a very hard task, but working together was a team our police officers are able to identify over 2,100 individual targets,” Feiner said.
The technology speeds up the process but it still takes a lot of manpower. Pembroke Pines Police say it worked for five weeks. Each officer was on site for seven days working 16-18 hours a day and scanning more than 600 miles of water in Collier and Lee County.
“They started when the sun rose. They ended when the sun set,” Feiner said. “We do whatever we can as a whole to make these waterways safer for everyone who is going to use them in the future because recreational boaters or anyone who is on the water could find these waterways difficult to navigate.”
The heavy lifting is done, but there is still work being done to remove the debris left in the water from Ian.
