An Unprecedented Number of Drones Will Deploy Over Houston to Survey What Humans Can't See

"This will be the widest scale event that we've used drones for to date," said Justin Herndon, a spokesman for Allstate. Herndon says his company expects to conduct hundreds of drone flights per day after Harvey--thousands a week. Farmer's, another major property insurance company, is also planning to deploy drones for the same purpose. The drones that most insurance companies will use aren't huge; they fit in a medium-sized suitcase and are packed with high-resolution cameras that can take aerial images of roofs and property. It's not always safe for a person to walk on the roof of a severely damaged building, and some areas are often impossible to assess until other parts are repaired or special rigging is used.