Local drone school training Civil Protection Unit to use Drones in disaster management

In November 2021, the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) acquired (through the UNDP) 18 DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drones in order to manage and monitor areas in Zimbabwe that are prone to floods, cyclones and other natural disasters. The operatives from the organisation successfully completed their Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) mandated Remote Pilot Licence (RPL) and have taken their preparations a step further by contracting CAAZ-certified Precision Drone Training to deepen their knowledge about Disaster Management with the use of remotely piloted aircraft.

The course, which falls under Precision Drone Training’s Industry Specific Curriculum, aims to enhance the skills that the Civil Protection Unit’s pilots learned in their RPL certification. On top of that, the CPU’s pilots will learn the fundamentals of:

• Effective operation of their DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drones
• The importance of mission planning and preflight checklists assuring successful operations.
• Responsibilities they have not only to the mission but to the airspace and other aircraft that will be operating in and around it.
• Autonomous flight operations when mapping areas that have been struck by disaster.
• Software used to map and process images collected.
• Ways of productive collaboration with emergency services, communities, local authorities, sister agencies and other stakeholders in disaster response missions

The advanced training was split into two sections over a four-day period, starting off with theory and then progressing to practical training. After undergoing Precision Drone Training’s Industry Specific Course, the Civil Protection Unit and its pilots will more effectively be able to conduct disaster management exercises to aid emergency response teams in clearing things like power lines that may have fallen and obstacles that would restrict the movement of first responders.

More importantly, the Civil Protection Unit will now be able to provide a valuable aerial vantage point from which the areas affected by a disaster can be monitored to save lives. The data that the drones collect will also help the government and local authorities with post-disaster measures and reconstruction.

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Cover Image Credit: Fly Guys