Drones for Disaster Management
Disasters! Humanity has had a continuous endeavor to tackle them and we’ve become very good at it too. There are technologies that can track the activity in volcanoes, weather can be predicted in advance to stay prepared, buildings are being made earthquake proof, and a host of public awareness programmes that train citizens to act the right ways in order to navigate safely out of such situations.
Such new technology is unmanned aerial vehicles i.e. Drone
Drones for Effective Disaster Management
1. Drones are the new gold standard for first response-
Drones are light, easy to assemble, and quick to launch, making them the gold standard for first response. Disasters like flash floods and earthquakes affect a large area of land thus the efficiency and swiftness of drones help in assessing these areas quickly and giving relevant information to relevant authorities.
2. Drones give a birds-eye view of the affected area-
Along with being swift to respond, it is very urgent for first responder teams to know the extent of the damage. With drones flying at 100s of feet high, the authority can get high resolution photography and videography of the affected areas.
They can see which areas are more affected than the others and also where people are stuck and need urgent assistance.
This can then be used to plan rescue operations and how the teams will be dispatched.
What also helps here are the different types of sensors attached to drones like thermal cameras.
3. Mapping-
Maps of the affected areas are used by disaster management teams to properly coordinate the operations. Drones can be reused to make maps on a regular basis to properly track the progress of the rescue operations.
Disasters call for major investments in renovating the affected land. And any infrastructure and urban planning project require proper maps of the land. Drones are used to make highly accurate maps of vast areas of land in a concise time. Along with this, the progress of reconstruction can be recorded as well.
4. Specialty Drones
Some specialty drones are out in the market that can help rescue trapped people and at the same time improve the security of the authorities. These include.
1. Fire Extinguishing drones
These drones are equipped with a water tank through a pipe and are used to extinguish fires. These are especially helpful in tough-to-reach areas like massive debris or high rises.
2. Delivery drones
With the help of delivery drones, medical equipment, food, water, and other basic necessities can be delivered to the people affected. Supplies of rescue teams can also be replenished. With some heavy-duty drones, injured people even can be transported to hospitals.