Drones provide rapid air support after Guangxi floods

Two heavy-lift payload drones capable of flying with loads of 400 kilograms have been playing a big part in rescue work after recent flooding in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Upon their arrival on Wednesday from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the drones were immediately put to work airlifting emergency supplies — daily necessities including food and drinking water — to people isolated by floodwaters.

Guangzhou Yunxiang UAV Co, the drone manufacturer, sent a professional rescue team of 10 certified pilots to the disaster area on Wednesday, said Chen Gang, the chairman of the company, which is located in Guangzhou's Huangpu district.

"We witnessed many villages flooded by waters more than 2 meters deep, which made it difficult for ground rescue teams. Going in by ground could take half a day," Chen said.

The drones are also being used to capture aerial photographs of the area for assessment. Their quick patrol surveys of flooded villages and damaged roads are providing precise firsthand data that authorities can use to design evacuation routes and formulate emergency repair plans, he said.

Repair materials can be delivered directly to the broken road sections, greatly boosting the efficiency of post-disaster restoration.

"A second team of drone operators, together with several heavy-payload drones, will also soon be dispatched to the stricken areas in Guangxi for reinforcement," Chen said.

Moving forward, the company will cooperate with government authorities to create a regular low-altitude emergency response protocol that will expand the kinds of tasks the drones can do, including landslide surveys and forest fire prevention and control, he added.