Increasingly acting as a supplement and replacement for more expensive satellite imagery or footage from crewed aircraft after a disaster, drones have been an extremely useful tool for assessing damage and monitoring progress. However, with the newness, there remains gaps as to best practices and standard procedures in their use, write Maja Kucharczyk, PhD Candidate, Geography, University of Calgary and Chris Hugenholtz, Professor, Geography, University of Calgary in The Conversation.
Often, users aren’t fully aware of the threats that their use can cause, with the use of drones introducing extra risks to emergency response aircraft which may be operating in the same environment. Comparably, adverse weather can also limit their applications, with many commercial drones being unsuitable for operation in strong winds, during precipitation, or at cold temperatures.
Their general deployment can also create misleading impressions of damage caused, with drones being more likely to be used in rural areas, away from concentrations of people and buildings where impact from disasters can be greatest, write Kucharczyk, and Hugenholtz. Similarly, lower-income areas are more likely to be underserved by the use of drones, often due to a lack of funding necessary to support their operation.
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