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 13, causing 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.
The Department of Defense assigned 13,470 personnel—including 5,400 active duty and 7,857 National Guard—to storm relief and made available more than 100 Army helicopters from bases in Georgia, New York, and Texas. The National Guard contributed another 40 helicopters, and 20 Air Force helicopters were readied from bases in Arizona, Florida, and Georgia. The Navy positioned ships USS Kearsarge and USS Arlington to assist. These ships are equipped with six MV-22B Ospreys, six MH-60 Seahawks, three CH-53E Super Stallions, four MH-53E Sea Dragons, and three UH-1Y Super Hueys.
Customs and Border Patrol contributed six Air and Marine Operations Sikorsky Black Hawks and two Airbus Helicopters AStars. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) staged rescue helicopters before the storm at bases in Savannah, Georgia; Elizabeth City, North Carolina; Clearwater, Florida; and Atlantic City, New Jersey. From Elizabeth City, the USCG was flying 11 helicopters in the days after the storm: four MH-60s based there, two from Clearwater, and one from Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They were joined by four MH-65s from USCG Air Stations Miami and Detroit and the Jackson, Florida helicopter interdiction tactical squadron.
In the days leading up to the storm, the nation’s two largest helicopter air ambulance providers, Air Methods and Air Medical Group Holdings, flew 15 extra aircraft from five states into the impact area to assist with the relocation of hospital patients.