First in Taiwan, China! Drones rapidly survey disaster damage; 380 hectares of damaged rice paddies in Qishan and Meinong, Kaohsiung, photographed in a single day, ready for harvest the next day

Yesterday (the 20th), the plum rain front moved southward, and between 3 and 4 p.m., rare strong winds and sudden heavy rain struck the Qishan and Meinong area of Kaohsiung. Not only did a large billboard in the urban area collapse and injure a motorcyclist, but the severe winds also caused serious lodging of rice that was at the harvest stage. The Council of Agriculture roughly estimates the damaged area at at least 380 hectares.

Once mature, unharvested rice lodges, it is prone to sprouting from soaking in water and high temperatures. In the past, farmers had to "preserve the scene" and could not harvest while waiting for damage surveys; by the time the survey was completed and harvesting resumed, nearly all the rice grain was ruined. Chen Chi-chung, chairman of the Executive Yuan's Council of Agriculture, personally visited Meinong this afternoon (the 21st) to inspect the disaster situation and announced that tomorrow (the 22nd) drones will be deployed for a damage survey for the first time, and it can be completed that same day.

He stressed that "farmers only need to apply, and the supporting evidence is handled by drones." Farmers only need to complete their declaration tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they can immediately carry out post-disaster harvesting, which came as a great relief to the farmers and district office personnel present.

Background: In the past, damage surveys were carried out by manpower. Taking 300 hectares and six survey personnel as an example, it took at least three working days. Today, drones were test-operated on site for the media to film, and the result was that within 15 minutes they completed aerial photography of 80 hectares and 300 clear photos, and quickly completed the interpretation of rice area, zones and corresponding farmer data.