Coast Guard rescue efforts underway in the Texas Gulf Coast aftermath of Hurricane Harvey being hampered by citizen drones. The head of the rescue efforts Adm. Zukunft is worried that his Coast Guard air rescue crews will collide with citizen drones which are flying in the same airspace as the rescue helicopters, “we’re flying at very low altitudes” in order to rescue those stranded.

“This is a very congested airspace. We want to save lives.”

Compelling aerial drone video on youtube shows the enormous scope of the flood areas. The only trouble is drones and helicopters don’t mix well. The smallest of consumer drones can be catastrophic to real aircraft, especially helicopters hovering over flooded waters with low visibility.

As rescue and relief efforts go into full swing by men and women carrying the coast guard flags, keeping an essential airspace off unnecessary hindrances like citizen drones could greatly assist rescue teams in saving lives. The Coast Guard is therefore, urging residents to keep there drones grounded despite the curiosity of exploring the devastated neighborhoods.