Rotorcraft
Hundreds of Helos Fly In after Florence
Coordinated effort mitigates tragedy.
A U.S. Customs & Border Patrol Air & Marine Operations UH-60 Black Hawk from Tucson, Arizona, rescues a woman and her dog near the Cape Fear, North Carolina waterway on September 17. (Credit: CPB Jaime Rodriguez Sr.)
A U.S. Customs & Border Patrol Air & Marine Operations UH-60 Black Hawk from Tucson, Arizona, rescues a woman and her dog near the Cape Fear, North Carolina waterway on September 17. (Credit: CPB Jaime Rodriguez Sr.)

Once again, the swift and coordinated deployment of military and civil rotorcraft to a natural disaster has mitigated what surely could have been a wider human tragedy. Hurricane Florence dumped historic rainfall onto the Carolinas beginning September 13causing widespread flooding and more than an estimated $20 billion worth of damage. The current storm-related death toll stands at 37, but is expected to increase.