SARASOTA, Fla. – Civil Air Patrol’s Florida Wing has provided more than 13,000 aerial images of damage caused by Hurricane Matthew to federal, state and local disaster-relief agencies, the wing’s commander said Oct. 10, 2016.
Col. Henry Irizarry said the volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force flew eight sorties today from bases in Tallahassee, Tampa, Sarasota and Punta Gorda, including communications relay, asset relocation and aerial photo surveys.
Irizarry said Florida Wing pilots have flown more than 30 sorties since Friday at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as state officials.
The wing today started to draw CAP members from Florida’s east coast areas for duty assignments. CAP leaders initially assigned personnel from the western portions of the state that were unaffected by the storm.
More than 100 Florida Wing members have participated in the current mission, Irizarry said.
Additional CAP response operations for Hurricane Matthew are ongoing in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.