Blog Layout

NOAA Satellites Saved 350 Lives Last Year, 9 Were In Gulf Shores

News Staff • January 29, 2024

Local fishermen were saved by proper safety technology in '23

Gulf Shores Coast Guard Rescues

Professional fishermen, charters and experienced boat Captains will tell you how important it is to have the latest safety  technology on board your vessel. In 2023, some 350 people were saved by a NOAA satellite system and 9 of them were rescued just off the coast of Gulf Shores.


NOAA’s satellites, known for their pivotal role in tracking weather and climate, were behind the rescue of 350 people from harrowing, life-threatening ordeals in the U.S. and its surrounding waters in 2023.

NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites are part of the global Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, or COSPAS-SARSAT, which uses a network of U.S. and international spacecraft to detect and locate distress signals sent from 406MHz emergency beacons onboard aircraft, boats and handheld Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) anywhere in the world. Since its start in 1982, COSPAS-SARSAT has been credited with supporting more than 48,000 rescues worldwide, including more than 10,455 throughout the U.S. and the waters that surround it.


Of the 350 U.S. rescues last year, 255 people were pulled from the water, 44 were saved from aviation incidents and 51 were rescued on land, where PLBs were used. The record one-year total for SARSAT rescues in the U.S. stands at 421 in 2019.


Gulf Shores Safety News For Boaters

Florida had the most people rescued with 83, followed by Hawaii with 52 and Alaska with 49.

When a NOAA satellite pinpoints the location of a distress signal in the U.S., the information is relayed to the SARSAT Mission Control Center at NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. From there, the information is quickly sent to Rescue Coordination Centers, operated either by the U.S. Air Force for land rescues, or the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for maritime rescues. NOAA also supports rescues globally by relaying distress signal information to international COSPAS-SARSAT partners.


Here’s a glimpse at three notable rescues from 2023:

  • On June 12, just south of Gulf Shores, Alabama, the USCG rescued nine people from a fishing boat after its engines lost power. The crew activated the onboard beacon, which provided the location of the stranded vessel.


  • On September 5, a mid-air collision between a helicopter and an aircraft resulted in minor injuries to seven passengers. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received the coordinates from an onboard Emergency Locator Transmitter and correlated the position to a collision report provided by the Federal Aviation Administration. The Alaska National Guard arrived on the scene to treat the passengers.


  • On September 14, two people on a hike in Kukuihaele, Hawaii, fell into a ravine and were disabled. The USCG detected the distress signal from their PLB and alerted the Hawaii County Fire Department. The department dispatched a helicopter, which airlifted the hikers to a nearby hospital.


“With each life saved, the SARSAT program proves its worth,” said Steve Volz, Ph.D., assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. “NOAA’s partnerships with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, NASA and others around the world are the foundation of SARSAT’s long success.”


By law, 406MHz beacon owners are required to register their devices online with NOAA. Registration information helps provide better and faster assistance to people in distress, reduces false alarms and may also indicate what type of help is needed.

  • gulf shores news

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • news in gulf shores

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • port at zekes

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • saunders marine gulf shores

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • yabbas snack shack

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • freedom boat club orange beach

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • buzzcatz coffee

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

Recent Posts

Gulf Shores Area Walking Tour News
By Guy Busby April 2, 2025
Foley residents and visitors will have a chance to stroll through more than a century of local history in April when Foley conducts walking tours of the downtown historic district. Foley is one of more than 20 Alabama communities conducting the tours on each Saturday of the month throughout April.
Business on the beach gulf shores news
By John Mullen April 2, 2025
In recent years people have applied for business licenses on the beach which include jet ski rentals, banana boat rides, private party catering, chair services and the never ending amount of weddings. Orange Beach will take a new city ordinance to further prohibit “commercial activity” on beaches, shorelines and waterways in the city. “There have been some business licenses that have come through recently that we needed some clarification on,” Deputy Coastal Resources Director Nicole Woerner said. “We just don’t want our beaches to be overrun and our waterways with people just selling and doing all kinds of things.”
Gulf Shores School News
By Allison Marlow April 2, 2025
Part classroom lesson, part real life problem-solving and a whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll has defined the school day for students at Foley and Gulf Shores high schools recently. The students have spent the last few months serving as the stage managers, producers, promoters, designers, artists and even the roadies who carry in the amps and guitars for the popular Reach and Teach program.
Show More
Share by: