Due to heavy rainfall on September 15 and 16 2015, Huaping County suffered from a debris flow disaster, with bridges destroyed and part of urban areas covered by silt. In response, the Yunnan Bureau of Survey, Mapping and Geoinformation deployed a UAV team to provide support on site. After being briefed of the situation by the local Land and Resources Bureau, the team quickly made an emergency response flight plan in consideration of the actual situation, weather, terrain and other parameters.
On September 18, when the weather became suitable for flight, the team took 2 flights at low altitude to get a better view of the disaster. At 11 am, a md4-1000 captured video data for the hard-hit area Tianping Village; at 3 pm, the md4-1000 captured more than 660 images (resolution less than 0.16m) of the Liyu River and affected areas, covering an area of 62km². Data processing then quickly followed, and high-resolution images presenting the disaster were soon ready. Comparison images before and after the disaster were also made.
Without any delay, the processed data was then sent to the local Land and Resources Bureau, which would give disaster relief commands according to the survey and mapping data that the team had obtained. Captured from a bird’s eye view and processed afterwards, this high-resolution data presented the actual situation in detail and was very helpful for disaster relief deployment, desilting and removing dangers.