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JUIDA personnel operate a drone to search the interior of Aeon Mall Kumamoto on July 29 in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture. (Courtesy of JUIDA)<\/p>\nDrones are becoming an increasingly important tool in Japan’s response to natural disasters. Remotely operated aircraft can quickly assess damage while keeping rescuers out of potentially dangerous areas. Some can also transport supplies or broadcast evacuation warnings.<\/p>\n
As their use expands, however, ensuring a stable supply of drones and trained operators remains a challenge.<\/p>\n
Their capabilities were put to use in Kumamoto Prefecture after a powerful earthquake struck on July 28.<\/p>\n
The following day, the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association (JUIDA), an industry group made up of drone-related companies, began searching Aeon Mall Kumamoto at the request of the Ground Self-Defense Force.<\/p>\n
An explosion occurred at the mall after the initial tremors. Seven people, all employees of businesses operating in the complex, are believed to have initially evacuated but later returned to the building, where they were caught in the explosion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government has said the blast was likely caused by a liquefied petroleum (LP) gas leak from distribution pipes damaged by the earthquake.<\/p>\n
Palm-sized drones were deployed in areas that Self-Defense Force and fire department personnel could not safely enter because of the risk of secondary disasters. Real-time footage allowed rescuers to identify areas that needed to be searched.<\/p>\n
Similar operations were conducted at the Nippon Paper Yatsushiro mill, where a chimney had collapsed. A total of 13 searches were carried out over four days.<\/p>\n
Kohei Juni, who led the operations, said the drones allowed rescuers to concentrate manpower on areas where searches were most urgently needed, helping them save lives at an early stage.<\/p>\n
JUIDA personnel operate a drone to search the interior of Aeon Mall Kumamoto on July 29 in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture. (Courtesy of JUIDA)<\/p>\n
From Search to Supply Delivery<\/p>\n
The use of drones is not limited to locating people or assessing damage. JUIDA also dispatched teams to areas affected by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, where drones were used to inspect damage inside buildings and, in cooperation with Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), deliver medicines to evacuation centers cut off by road disruptions.<\/p>\n
The organization also used drones to monitor landslide dams from fixed points, helping track sites at risk of triggering debris flows.<\/p>\n
Police have likewise used drones for search operations and other tasks following major disasters, including the Kumamoto earthquake. Aerial footage can be transmitted instantly to police headquarters away from the disaster site, allowing officers to deploy teams more efficiently and select safer routes to affected areas.<\/p>\n
Drones are also increasingly being used by firefighters. According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, only 70 of Japan’s 732 fire departments had introduced drones as of April 2017. By April last year, however, nearly 80% of fire departments nationwide had deployed them.<\/p>\n
Drones equipped with speakers can also deliver information to areas where broadcasts from disaster-prevention administrative radio systems are difficult to hear.<\/p>\n
A report by an advisory panel to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, an external body under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, said drones are already being used in Sendai and Ichinomiya, Chiba Prefecture, to warn people in coastal areas of tsunami threats.<\/p>\n
The report said outdoor speakers should remain the basic means of communication, but drones could be effective in coastal and mountainous areas where installing such speakers is difficult.<\/p>\n
Building a Reliable System<\/p>\n
Despite growing demand, drone use at disaster sites is still largely left to individual local authorities. Sotaro Tsuboi, a professor of applied geography at Teikyo University, said the Disaster Relief Act should explicitly provide for drones to be used to save lives and transport supplies during emergencies.<\/p>\n
Local governments also differ in how they secure budgets and cover operating costs. Closing these gaps would help create more reliable arrangements for emergency drone operations.<\/p>\n
Regular maintenance and the training and retention of skilled operators are also essential. Tsuboi said disaster management plans should specify drones’ roles and procedures for using them, making this an urgent priority.<\/p>\n
(Read the article in Japanese<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
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