Nepali rescue workers test aid delivery by drone
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Volunteers working with the police to pack essential food, medicine and other supplies for a drone relief operation at Devighat, Nepal.
PHOTO: ATUL LOKE/NYTIMES
Atul Loke and Anupreeta Das
- A flood and landslide in Nepal cut off transport and communication for thousands, affecting about 10,000 households and more than 2,500 people still missing.
- Nepali rescue teams tested drones capable of carrying 100kg to deliver essential supplies like food and clothing across rivers where roads are destroyed.
- The drone tests were successful, and authorities will consider using drones to speed up humanitarian aid while Nepal seeks billions to rebuild damaged infrastructure.
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BIDUR, Nepal – The deadly flood and landslide that struck Nepal last week snapped bridges and roads and yanked out utility poles, abruptly cutting off transportation and communication for thousands.
As the search for nearly 5,000 people continues, there is also a rush to move food and other essentials to survivors on either side of the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers.
About 10,000 households were affected by the disaster, according to the UN.
One idea for delivering the aid: drones.
On the afternoon of Aug 29, about a dozen private drone operators, army volunteers and police officers gathered at a patch of open ground in Devighat, an area in the central Nepali town of Bidur, to test whether the devices could be used to deliver critical supplies across the Trishuli River.
They were testing a drone that is roughly the size of a large dining table when its propellers are extended.
It can carry up to 100kg.
Some of the testers were experienced commercial drone pilots who had dropped off packages high in the Himalayas.
But the group proceeded cautiously, loading the drone with a payload of around 59kg before its first twirl in the sky.
The packages included rice, instant noodles, clothing and sanitary pads.
Light rain slowed the work of attaching the goods to the drone with rope and carabiners.
Drones of this size and capacity, which cost thousands of dollars, can climb thousands of feet, but the drone in the test flew much lower to the other side of the river.
It did not land there but hovered as testers offloaded the goods.
A round trip took about three minutes.
After the first successful trial, the testers congratulated one another.
The tests were then conducted a few more times, and the methods worked.
The testers now plan to take their findings to the authorities, who will assess whether this type of drone delivery could accelerate humanitarian relief.
Several other types and sizes of drones are already in use, including for delivering emergency rations to remote areas.
Speed is critical. The flood destroyed more than 35 bridges and damaged about 40km of roads, including sections of critical highways.
Nepali Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle told Reuters that more than US$4 billion (S$5.1 billion) could be needed to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure.
To restore some connectivity, Nepal has requested portable bridges from other countries to assist with its emergency operations. NYTIMES
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
