Should heavy-duty drones be used to rescue China’s flood victims?

Photos and discussions about China’s recent use of heavy-duty drones to “airlift” villagers affected by flooding in Guangxi have gone viral but almost two decades ago, the disaster-prone country once relied on risky, low-tech means to fight natural calamities.

China’s rapid tech advancement, represented by the development and deployment of drones, has helped it better handle emergencies, as shown by first responders rescuing residents from widespread rainstorms and floods since June.

In the southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, swarms of drones carried out quick surveys of inundated areas and identified those still trapped, as local authorities raced against time to save people earlier this month. In some dramatic cases, drones were deployed in aerial extractions of stranded residents from rooftops or out of harm’s way.

But when western China was jolted by a devastating earthquake 18 years ago, the country resorted to desperate measures, including sending paratroopers in extreme blind-drop operations into the worst-hit regions in treacherous weather to survey damage and restore communication.

Since then, China’s dominance in drone tech and manufacturing has transformed inspection, surveying and logistics. The roles of drones in disaster relief and search and rescue operations have also expanded and become central and even indispensable, as China battles more frequent extreme weather events.