Drones Used In Storm Damaged North Dakota to Search for Personal Items

(Contributed/Northern Plains UAS Test Site via the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Drones are helping residents of storm-damaged areas in eastern North Dakota find personal items scattered during tornadoes and straight-line winds.

Enderlin native Sadie Rudolph posted on social media Monday calling on drone operators to help search for items taken away by the series of storms that rolled across North Dakota on Friday. In less than 24 hours, the post was shared more than 180 times with many people reaching out to add lost items to the list and to see how they could help.

“We’ve got a lot of people looking for things that have been scattered for miles,” said Rudolph, who now lives in West Fargo.

The North Dakota Community Foundation has set up a storm relief fund. Financial donations will be provided to impacted communities and homeowners to assist with disaster recovery and unmet needs.

Rudolph said someone reached out to her on social media to report that a letter with an Enderlin address was found more than 90 miles away in Ulen, Minnesota.