Disaster response is
nothing short of an essential skill governments around the world have
to develop and hone. In the U.S., hurricanes such as Katrina, had put
disaster response agencies, namely the United States Air Force, to
the ultimate test. Aircraft capable of search and rescue, as well as
airlift operations in disaster areas, were tapped as they were badly
needed.
However, with most of
the USAF's assets conducting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the
pool of available aircraft wasn't enough to cover every affected
area. Civilian aircraft had to pitch in into disaster relief
operations to compensate for this. They worked day and night to help
as many victims as possible with the resources available.
The operations required
tons of fuel; the hurricane cut much of Louisiana off from vital gas
and oil supplies. Fortunately, emergency fuel services were called in
to provide military and civilian aircraft with much needed fuel for
sustained operations. In many cases, the aircraft were "refueled
hot" or refueled with the engines on to get back to the rescue
effort quickly.
The airlift operations
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina would go on to become the
largest deployment of military forces for a civil support mission in
U.S. history. Out of more than 12,000 helicopter sorties, it rescued
15,000 citizens and ferried 80,000 out of disaster zones. Thanks to
on-site fuel services keeping the sorties all tanked up, Katrina's
damage was mitigated.
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