How can drones help in disasters?

How can drones help in disasters?

Can drones really be useful in disaster situations?

With the advancement of technology, we are seeing that to a huge extent, drones are helping us respond faster in various disaster situations. We can notice that there is no area of our lives that does not depend on the state and development of technology anymore. Overall, the purpose of creating these technologies is to meet people's needs and make life easier and safer. Especially in disasters, it is often necessary to risk the life of one group of people to save nature or another group of people. Therefore, we can say that the development of technology is important, as it helps us reduce risks in different ways.

Through some technologies, it is possible to help during dangerous situations and predict when a disaster will happen. For example, there are seismographs that monitor the movement of the earth and people can be warned of impending disasters. However, it is not always possible to predict when a hazard is approaching and exactly how much damage it will cause. Furthermore, different systems have their strengths and weaknesses and are in a constant process of improvement.

How can drones help in disasters?

Modern drones are so advanced in their development that in many countries they are involved in rescue operations. They are not only a way of entertainment for aerial footage enthusiasts, but also real flying rescuers.

We can also say that, thanks to drones, lives are being saved, since through them we can act much faster and without having to risk the lives of rescue teams as much.

In the following lines, we will look at how drones help us cope in disaster situations and why it is worth supporting their development.

1. Assessing possible hazards by drone

Drones are often used for research purposes to create the most adequate and safe rescue strategy possible. In disaster situations, rescue teams can use timely and up-to-date information from the air, to judge how to act, understand what condition the victims are in, how many they are, etc. This really is life-saving information that is needed so that people can be rescued.

Also via drones, teams can monitor the condition of areas, avoid going through dangerous landslides or floods, and determine how far a fire has spread.

The unmanned machines are remarkably flexible and easy to operate. They can navigate through tight spaces and collapsed buildings. Some models have thermal cameras that can detect the presence of people in distress in a difficult to reach location (if they are behind a wall or it is too dark, for example).

2. Carrying emergency supplies by drone

Some rescues need time to reach the victims. Walls have to be breached or temporary bridges have to be built, and in such cases, it is possible that people who are victims of the disaster may need life-saving medication, food and water. Drones can carry cargo that is valuable to people's lives.

Very often, what is impossible to be done by rescuers can be accomplished with the help of a drone. Through the direct connection to the drone's camera, the condition of the victims can be monitored and what is needed can be sent until the teams reach them. More valuable cargo that can be carried are vests, defibrillators, first aid drugs and kits, and more.

3. Fighting forest fires with drones

Forest fires are very dangerous because they can spread quickly and change direction depending on the wind. Using helicopters to put out fires is effective but also quite expensive.

It is also possible to extinguish fires using drones, although they cannot carry such large quantities of water. Furthermore, it is possible to more easily locate survivors and even identify which substances are explosive.

Drones provide other firefighting methods that give response teams an advantage when it comes to wildfires.

What's next?

Drones have capabilities that other technologies do not. It is possible to overcome barriers to fight fires and provide emergency supplies through them, which was not as effective before them.

It has already been proven how useful drones can be in times of disaster, which means that flying machines will continue to develop in this area. It will certainly be interesting to see how they will be improved in the future and how they will be equipped so that more people can be rescued.

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