Long-Distance Drones Help China Respond to Henan Floods

Prolonged and heavy rain beginning July 2021 has been wreaking havoc on China’s Henan province, creating record-breaking flood conditions.  As of the time of this writing, there have been over 300 fatalities attributed to the flooding.  The silver lining is that long-distance drones have been deployed to help with the disaster relief efforts, and, although hard to believe, have prevented the disaster from being even worse.

How Long-Distance Drones are Helping the Disaster Relief Efforts

Several long-distance drones, including the Wing Loong 2H drone, have been on the front lines of the recovery effort.  Not only can the drones fly for long distances, they can also stay airborne for long periods of time and can carry heavy loads.  The degree to which the technology has improved over the last 5 years alone is astounding.

Here’s a short list of the amazing things these remote vehicles are doing to help Henan recover as quickly as possible:

• They were deployed during the crucial “first-hour” after the onslaught to provide observational data. This information included the speed and direction the water was flowing, which is crucial in terms of identifying the most at-risk areas and prioritizing which areas to respond to first.  This data also helps identify the best evacuation routes.
• They helped deliver supplies to people in need. Because the winds have not been particularly strong, the long-distance drones were able to deliver much needed food, water and medication to stranded residents.  Not only does this get the supplies to where they need to be quickly, the autonomous nature of the drones means that rescue workers can focus on other priorities.
• They inspected the interior of buildings that were compromised to determine safety levels as well as the optimal navigational paths for rescue purposes.

What these long-distance drones are doing is extremely impressive.  Utilities from all sectors should be keeping a close eye on this situation and adopting the relevant drone use-cases for their own restoration and recovery operations.