Civil Air Patrol (CAP) wings from Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas ended their mission May 30 to provide aerial and ground assistance to Moore, Okla., which continues to recover from an EF5 tornado that hit the town on May 20.
CAP units worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fly over the tornado’s path—estimated to be 17 miles in length and at its peak was almost two miles wide—to capture high-quality images to assess the damage. Ground teams also went block by block and house by house to document the destruction. Almost 100 CAP cadets and officers participated in the effort.
In addition to their flights for the state, members of the Oklahoma Wing provided air and ground sorties to a combat camera team from Air Combat Command, which is working on a story on military support of the ongoing relief efforts.
CAP air and ground team members worked with 450 FEMA workers who, by Memorial Day, had delivered 43,000 meals and 150,000 liters of water, along with thousands of cots, blankets, and other comfort items.
Benét J. Wilson
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