A drone is used to deliver food, drinking water and medical supplies to flood-stricken villages in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. CHINA DAILY
Unmanned technologies have emerged as frontline emergency response solutions in flood rescue operations after a typhoon battered the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, with drones restoring mobile networks, robotic boats replacing rescuers in dangerous waters and satellite communications reconnecting isolated communities cut off from the outside world.
The operation reflects how China is increasingly deploying technologies once associated with military or industrial applications for humanitarian disaster response, turning unmanned systems into what industry experts describe as "airborne lifelines".
After heavy rainfall triggered reservoir overflows and widespread flooding across the region, the Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched two Wing Loong emergency drones at the request of local authorities to restore communications in some of the worst-hit areas.
Flying above flooded villages in Hengzhou, where residents had been left without mobile services after the communications infrastructure was damaged, the drones temporarily rebuilt public mobile coverage enabling more than 180 users to access the network.
