As the death toll rises following the catastrophic flash floods in central Texas, first responders are engaged in the hopeful search for survivors, as well as the devastating task of finding bodies.
You wouldn't think anything could be harder and more gut-wrenching than extreme search and retrieval efforts.
But there is an added level of difficulty, and it is us. Drone pilots. (It has already been reported that a drone did hit a helicopter during rescue operations.)
"Media-operated drones are interfering with official search and rescue drones," said the Kerrville Texas Police Department via its Facebook page. "There is a no-fly zone in Kerr County for private drones. We need cooperation in this matter. Let our first responders do their job."
"We know that people want to volunteer," added Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice during a press conference. "But what we are starting to see is personal drones flying—which are a danger to aircraft, and risk further operations."
For example, the Texas National Guard deployed an MQ-9 Reaper drone to assist rescue operations as an "eye in the sky." It is not known whether personal drones interferred with the Reaper's assessments or flight patterns. That said, first responders have stated that civilian drone pilots hampered rescue efforts in recent disasters, such as the 2021 Dixie Fire in Northern California, where an unauthorized drone caused firefighting aircraft to land.
Or, Florida's Hurricane Helene emergency in 2024, where FAA officials issued temporary flight restrictions and asked that anyone trying to use their drone to assist disaster relief coordinate with law enforcement on scene to ensure life-saving operations were not disrupted.
One of the most dangerous incidents was during the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles, where an unauthorized civilian drone collided with an airborne Super Scooper, putting it out of service for dropping water on the out-of-control flames.
Of course, with the media hungry for real-time drone footage to report on disasters, keeping the skies 100-percent clear for first responders seems like one of those impossible dreams.
We can only hope the large community of The Droning Company pilots either stands down or checks in with authorities at the scene before launching their drones to assist with rescue efforts or file new reports.
Don't be the problem. Lives are at stake.
A Drone's View of the Flood
