Abstract
Disasters are emergencies that threaten human lives, with the primary result being the destruction of public communication infrastructure, which makes search and rescue (SAR) activities difficult. As a result, using uncrewed autonomous vehicles provides versatile and reliable emergency services to solve the major communication challenges SAR operations face during disasters.
Based on this, the research examines how SAR teams use drones during earthquakes, storms, heat waves, floods, tsunami-related disasters, mudslides, avalanches, debris flows, volcanic eruptions, and fire breakouts in indoor and outdoor settings. Drones enhance communication for SAR specialists to save more people and property in less time. Drones deliver disaster information in real time, enhancing the effectiveness of search and rescue missions. Despite their advantages, UAVs’ main challenges when integrated into SAR activities include regulatory restrictions, limited stakeholder support, and technical as well as environmental constraints.
Introduction
Globally, the prevalence of artificial and natural disasters is increasing at an alarming rate. The number of casualties in calamities has been increasing because of traditional methods of searching and rescuing victims. For instance, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) (2020, p. 6) reports that between 1980 and 1999, the world recorded over 4200 reported disasters. In this period, the number of victims of disasters was over 3.3 billion, with reported deaths being approximately 1.1 million (UNDRR, 2020, p. 6).
On the other hand, the number of reported calamities increased between 2000 and 2019 (UNDER, 2020, p. 6). In this sense, between 2000 and 2019, there were over 7300 disasters reported globally, with over 1. 2 million deaths and 4 billion casualties (UNDRR, 2020, p. 6). In addition, studies also note that the number of vulnerable populations to calamities is growing. For instance, UNDRR (n.d.) indicates that the number of young boys, girls, and women, who are more vulnerable to the negative impacts of disasters is increasing.
The statistics show upward trends in the number of deaths and casualties of disasters globally when rescuers used conventional ways of searching and rescuing people. Hence, to protect vulnerable populations from calamities and manage the increasing number of injuries, deaths, and loss of people in disasters, the integration of technological innovations such as drones in search and rescue (SAR) operations globally was essential.
Stakeholders such as lifeboat organizations, mountain, commercial, and civilian rescue teams, as well as military helicopter and Aeroplan operators, cliff and coastal rescue teams, police forces, civil defenses, and military personnel with SAR responsibilities, are using drones in searching and rescuing disaster victims. Therefore, the research will focus on the critical situations where the application of drones in search and rescue operations is necessary, their benefits, and their risks.
Background
Critical Situations and Incidences Where Drones are Relevant in Search and Rescue Operations.
Earthquake
SAR teams use drones during search and rescue operations after an earthquake. According to Calamoneri, Corò, and Mancini (2022, para 1), the impacts of an earthquake can be detrimental to human lives, creating the need to search and rescue victims with efficient techniques. The SAR teams during an earthquake may introduce drones to increase efficiency, accuracy, and speed of locating trapped victims in fallen and flowing debris.
Calamoneri et al. (2022) show that using drones reduces the exposure of SAR teams to injuries common during conventional search and rescue operations. In this sense, disaster management organizations send drones instead of sending SAR officers on vehicles and planes in places hit by earthquakes. The advantage reduces risks of death and injuries among rescue teams who risk their lives searching for surviving people in buildings, debris, bridges, and other civil structures that an earthquake might destroy. These types of equipment also provide real-time results and performance for SAR when searching for surviving victims in an area hit by an earthquake (Dong, Ota, and Dong, 2021, p.2). Therefore, uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) provide the exact location of trapped victims for easy retrieval and rescue by SAR teams.
Heat Waves and Extreme Temperatures
Drones are also reliable in rescuing and searching during and after heat waves. Niedzielski et al. (2021) note that technologists incorporate machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (A.I.), and data analytics algorithms in UAVs that help in detecting human and animal bodies trapped in areas with extreme heat or temperatures (p. 2). Instead of sending humans to rescue people in unfavorable temperatures, the SAR team sends drones.
Niedzielski et al. (2021) indicate that UAVs have graphical user interfaces that help searchers and rescuers distinguish humans from non-human materials during heat waves (p. 14). This innovation was relevant in saving a trapped 65-year-old man in Niski in SE Poland (Niedzielski et al., 2021, p. 9). The technology also provides rescuers with high-resolution images and interpreted data about surviving humans trapped in heat waves.
Floods
Victims of floods also benefit from the search and rescue operations supported by UAVs. Hasan et al. (2021) studied the role of ICT systems in UAVs in flood control and disaster management (p.105). The research revealed that UAVs are essential in rescuing victims during the pre-flood, in-flood, and post-flooding phases (Hasan et al., 2021, p.109). The primary advantage of drones in flooded areas is that they provide real-time information about trapped humans’ location before, during, and after floods (Hasan et al., 2021, p.109).
Hasan et al. (2021) show that disaster management teams deploy drones before flood occurrence after assessing an area’s and people’s vulnerability (p.109). The launched drones have integrated algorithms that allow searchers to track and adjust their positions during in-flood and post-flood phases of the calamities.
Drones enhance communication between rescuers and trapped victims in flooded areas with power outages, inaccessible to vehicles and planes, poor phone signals, scarcity of humans, as well as high densities of flowing and falling debris (Hasan et al., 2021, p.113). These UAVs also provide aerial images of victims and affected areas during floods (Munawar et al., 2021, p.1221). Thus, these technologies help searchers explore new and old areas affected by floods with reports of missing humans.
Tsunamis
The fealties, deaths, and injuries from tsunamis are also reducing because of ICT innovations and the incorporation of UAVs in search and rescue operations. The ability of UAVs to provide aerial pictures of victims in disaster-prone and affected areas, as shown by Munawar et al. (2021), makes it suitable for managing Tsunami impacts. Tsunamis make areas inaccessible by vehicles and planes, making it challenging for disaster management professionals to execute their search and rescue plans (p.1221).
Arnold et al. (2020) document that autonomous UAVs have parameters distinguishing locations and trapped humans from aerial views in tsunami-affected areas (p.124). For example, the algorithms incorporated in these drones identify survivors with yellow, red, and green colors based on their discovery abilities (Arnold et al., 2020, p.124).
In this sense, rescuers and researchers conclude that they have higher chances of discovering and rescuing the victims identified in green colors than those in red and yellow, who have low to moderate chances of surviving (Arnold et al., 2020, p.124). The drones also provide rescuers with 1 or 2-dimensional views or images of the survivors during tsunamis, making rescuers make informed decisions about prioritizing rescue operations for victims.
Avalanche, Land, and Mudslides
Disaster management organizations also control the deaths and casualties of mudslides, avalanches, and debris flows through the UAVs. Liang et al. (2021) specify that drones are essential in mapping and identifying debris flow, mud, and landslide distribution in each affected location (p. 1). The real-time information the UAVs provide supports rescuers such as firefighting department professionals in estimating the magnitude of avalanche effects or impacts of mud or landslide (Liang et al., 2021, p. 1). For instance, by identifying the spread, distance, perimeter, or area of debris or mudflow, searchers can project the number of affected people and households.
Finally, drones may help supply food, water, medical supplies, and other essential goods to victims of avalanches (Bogue, 2019, p. 1). Hence, the mapping of avalanche or mudslide flow and spread provides rescuers with the right information to plan and provide resources for SAR operations
Hurricanes and Storms
The rescue operations before, during, and after storms depend on UAVs and drones. Greenwood, Nelson, and Greenough (2020) show that drones help incident and disaster managers respond and assess calamities damages (p. 2). These drones are essential in collecting data regarding the effects and damages of storms that may lead to other calamities such as mudslides, landslides, and floods. For instance, in 2016, the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) introduced moving robots to collect data after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma storms that led to floods in Louisiana and Texas (Greenwood et al., 2020, p. 2).
Similarly, in 2013, searchers and rescuers also used autonomous flying vehicles for rescue operations during Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines (Greenwood et al., 2020, p. 3). The drones flown into storms provide police and fire departments with real-time information about damages, casualties, and accessibility of the affected areas. In these events, the data collected by drones help rescuers in resource planning, deployment, rescoring, search, and situational awareness regarding flood impacts and future risks (Greenwood et al., 2020, p. 6). Technological innovations help disaster management agencies acquire, plan and deploy SAR resources based on current and changing community needs during a storm.
Volcanic Eruptions
UAVs also play vital roles in disaster management in communities at risk of volcanic eruptions. Hakimy Salem, Kamaru Zaman, and Md Tahir (2021) show that drones play vital roles in mapping affected areas after active or dormant volcanic features erupt (p.72). In these events, uncrewed autonomous vehicles provide real-time information to rescuers about the size of affected areas after volcanic eruptions.
Hakimy Salem, Kamaru Zaman, and Md Tahir (2021) highlight that drone technologies are accurate, cost-efficient, and reduce the need for human power during rescue operations (p.72). Therefore, since drones require little or no manpower, these innovations help SAR teams control their exposure to harmful environmental conditions and particles in the air after volcanic eruptions. These technologies include hexacopters, octocopters, and quadcopters that disaster management teams send to affected areas, gathering data on the number of houses, people, and other properties destroyed after eruptions (Hakimy Salem, Kamaru Zaman, and Md Tahir, 2021, p.73).
Avezum, Seitz, and Bruegge (2019) also illustrate that drones have fog computing features that enhance communication between victims and search teams after eruptions (p. 64). The technologies promote collaborative and cooperative SAR operations in areas with poor environmental conditions and negative communication signals.
Domestic and Wildfires
The SAR teams also effectively implement searching and rescuing operations during fire outbreaks in domestic and outdoor environments. Aydin et al. (2019) studied the benefits of fire-extinguishing balls dropped by UAVs during fire outbreaks in homes, corporate settings, industrial regions, and forests, among other outdoor settings (p. 3). These balls are eco-friendly devices that suppress heat and extremely high temperatures that lead to fire outbreaks in vulnerable areas (Aydin et al., 2019, p.2).
The uncrewed aircraft system (UASs) that send balls in areas affected by extreme fire outbreaks reduces physical injury risks and exposure of firefighters and other disaster management professionals to heat (Aydin et al., 2019, p.2). The drones allow firefighters to remotely map affected areas and extinguish fires without their physical appearances or contributions.
According to Aydin et al. (2019), fireballs are vital in rescuing operations since they provide SAR teams with ample time to implement intervention plans, reduce fire spreads, and control the exposure of the victims as well as a firefighter to heat injuries 9 p. 6). Therefore, these scientific innovations are essential in managing rescue operations.
Winter and Ice Storms
Even though accidents rarely occur in the Antarctic and areas prone to extreme winter conditions because of low population, drones are essential when SAR operations when disasters occur in these regions. Mankoff et al. (2020) indicate that initially, primarily during the mid-18th century, the chances of recovering victims and properties after plane accidents in Greenland were minimal because of conventional SAR operations (p. 498). In recent times, the introduction of technology-based SAR activities encourages traveling and exploration of Antarctic regions by humans because of safety guaranteed after searching and rescuing operations.
Mankoff et al. (2020) highlight that because of autonomous sensors and UAVs, SAR improves their operations and results during natural and manmade disasters in areas with extreme ice and snow sheets (p. 506). These innovations reduce search time and exposure of SAR teams to extremely cold environmental conditions that are detrimental to their health. Moreover, because of drones, SAR teams increase their ability to search wider areas or coverage after disaster occurrences, such as plane crashes (Mankoff et al., 2020, p. 506). Generally, images and other communication signals provided by drones help SAR professionals rescue more humans and properties within shorter periods.
Benefits of Using Drones in Search and Rescue Operations
SAR teams use drones because of their ability to provide real-time information about disasters. De Alcantara Andrade et al. (2019) indicate that data analytics, AI, and ML incorporated in drones provide real-time information to SAR teams through video, audio, and image data (p. 1). This information helps SAR workers generate and map areas that need urgent intervention to save human lives. The information is also essential in allowing disaster management professionals to plan and deploy resources such as firefighters, police, food, medication, and personal protective equipment for victims and SAR teams.
Therefore, because of drones, disaster management teams implement and customize SAR operations based on current and real-time data on the ground provided by surveilling UAVs. The drones enhance situational awareness for stakeholders developing and implementing disaster control and preparedness plans.
Drones are also efficient during search and rescue operations, creating the need to implement them in disaster management and control procedures. De Alcantara Andrade et al. (2019, p. 9) indicate that UAVs guarantee rescuers efficient planning of SAR resources. De Alcantara Andrade et al. (2019) also highlight that because of UAS, disaster management teams have the leeway to deploy rescuing and searching resources efficiently (p. 9). For instance, the technologies provide accurate data about the number of humans trapped in a sinkhole, building, or wildfire through image, video, and audio signals. The data supports SAR groups to provide the right number of firefighters, oxygen supplies, insulators, water, and fire-extinguishing balls to control disaster burden and negative impacts.
The final benefit of drones during SAR operations is that they reduce the exposure of SAR teams to health hazards and disaster perils. Young (2020) illustrates how disaster management teams used drones to control their exposure to the COVID-19 virus (p. 185). In this sense, instead of SAR teams, including medical professionals, physically interacting with COVID-19 victims, they sent drones to collect data on patients’ situations and environments. The technologies helped healthcare and SAR professionals provide emergency assistance while abiding by social distance protocols to control the dangers of contracting Coronavirus.
Euchi (2021) also shows that drones helped monitor the public’s health during the COVID-19 pandemic in shopping centers and deliver necessary medical supplies to infected patients (p. 2). Thus, drones reduce exposure risks among disaster management teams, including SAR, healthcare, firefighters, and military officers.
Weaknesses
Regulatory barriers are among the primary challenges that impact the incorporation of UAVs in SAR operations. For example, drones’ implementation in SAR activities follows the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union’s European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations that are strict in enhancing ethical and legal disaster management operations (Johnson et al., 2021, p. 492). In this case, rescue operations that use drones must ensure they abide by the privacy rights of users and victims.
When responding to healthcare emergencies and rescuing patients, SAR that use drones should also protect victims’ confidential and private data. In the same way, SAR and emergency controlling teams must also seek victims’ consent before introducing drones for rescuing operations (Johnson et al., 2021, p. 492). Thus, the findings indicate numerous laws that prevent extensive implementation of drones exist in response to emergencies in the healthcare and medical sectors.
The lack of stakeholder buy-in for drones in emergency management operations hinders their implementation in SAR. The American Red Cross (n.d.) shows that stakeholders within and outside Red Cross society have reservations about using drones in SAR activities (para 37). In these organizations, employees, including top leadership groups, have limited knowledge about the benefits and ways of integrating drones in SAR. Thus, when implementing UAVs for disaster management in the Red Cross, one must convince many stakeholders to support their ideas (American Red Cross, n.d., para 37). The negative consequence of limited stakeholder buy-in includes limited access to financial support for drone-based SAR operations.
Cost constraints also hinder the successful use of UAVs in search and rescue operations. As the American Red Cross (n.d.) illustrates, the lack of stakeholder acceptance for drones in emergency management limits access to financial support for these technologies (para 37). In the Red Cross, leaders believe that drones would require the non-profit organization to develop and adjust their budgets for every financial year related to SAR activities American Red Cross (n.d., para 38).
In addition, disaster preparedness and controlling stakeholders believe drones are costly to implement and use in SAR. For instance, the American Red Cross (n.d.) shows that the cost of buying the Mavic Pro drone ranges between $ 1,000 and $ 10,000 in the U.S. (para 39). Generally, hardware, software, maintenance, upgrade, and improvement expenses for drones used in SAR are high. The cost prevents the searchers and rescuers from universally introducing drones in SAR activities globally, primarily in developing nations.
Technical and technological constraints are also major hindrances to the use of autonomous uncrewed vehicles in searching and rescuing disaster victims. American Red Cross (n.d.) indicates that drones require technical knowledge and professionals that some disaster management organizations may lack in underdeveloped and developing worlds (para 44).
In addition, users may lack the technical skills needed for UAVs’ repair, maintenance, and integration with other software and hardware used in disaster management (American Red Cross, n.d., para 44). Other technical issues include blackouts, poor battery life, user-interface problems, and delays for drones used in SAR (Półka, Ptak, and Kuziora, 2017, p. 749 – 750). These challenges mainly occur in SAR operations where users lack the right technical knowledge to operate these technologies.
Finally, environmental constraints prevent the effective introduction and use of drones in SAR. The American Red Cross (n.d.) indicates that drones are vulnerable to technical issues when exposed to extreme weather conditions (para 48). The hardware components used to make drones cannot sustain extremely hot, humid, and watery surroundings during search and rescue activities.
In addition, high atmospheric pressure, unfavorable altitudes, extreme wind, flowing debris, and moving solid particles in the air may also affect the functionalities of drones during rescue operations (Murcia et al., 2021, p. 1617). In this sense, harsh weather conditions may affect drones’ signals and batteries, hindering effective communication between search teams and victims.
Conclusion
In summary, the research reveals that drones are relevant in SAR operations during earthquakes, heat waves, extreme temperatures, floods, tsunamis, avalanches, land, mudslides, hurricanes, storms, volcanic eruptions, domestic and wildfires, as well as winter and ice storms. In addition, the benefits of using drones in search and rescue operations include providing real-time information about disasters, enhancing efficiency during SAR activities, and reducing exposure of SAR teams to health hazards and disaster perils.
On the other hand, regulatory barriers, lack of stakeholder buy-in for these innovations, as well as cost, technical technological, and environmental constraints, are the primary challenges that hinder the effective incorporation of UAVs in SAR operations.
Project Plan
Project Title: Use of Drones in Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations
Research Questions: Do drones advance situational responsiveness, deliver real-time disaster data, and lessen exposure risks during SAR activities?
Do drones experience regulatory issues, limited stakeholder buy-in, as well as technical, cost, and environmental problems during implementation in SAR operations?
Statement of the Initial Hypotheses
- Drones improve situational awareness during SAR operations
- Drones provide real-time data about disasters during searching and rescuing operations
- Drones reduce exposure risks to health hazards among SAR teams and professionals
Regulatory, lack of stakeholder buy-in, technical, cost, and environmental are the main constraints of implementing SAR in disaster management, mainly SAR activities
The Methodology
The research will use mixed-qualitative-and-quantitative approaches when answering the study questions. The study will apply the qualitative method when providing non-quantifiable answers to the research questions. In this sense, the research will collect non-numerical data to answer the research questions. On the other hand, the study will incorporate the quantitative methodology when providing quantifiable answers to the research questions. Thus, the process will also include collecting and analyzing numeric data to answer the research questions effectively.
Since the research will incorporate mixed-qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the data collection techniques will include surveys. The research will incorporate online and face-to-face surveys to reach a significant number of respondents to the research questions. The study will incorporate online surveys when reaching respondents at distant places. Contrarily, the exercise will use face-to-face surveys when collecting data from the respondents within rich of the researchers.
The research will use case study and narrative analysis methods to analyze the qualitative research data. The narrative analysis will collect and analyze stories from the respondents as well as literature information regarding the benefits and challenges of using drones in SAR operations. Similarly, using the case study approach, the researcher will examine the benefits and disadvantages of drones in search and rescue operations using real-life disaster management events.
Descriptive and inferential analysis will be the key approaches to analyzing the research’s quantitative data. The initial method will help the researchers develop and interpret data using descriptive statistics such as mean, median, range, standard deviation, mode, percentage, and frequency of data distribution. On the other hand, the inferential analysis will help establish the relationships between the research’s different dependent and independent variables. In this case, correlational, regression, and variance analysis will be key in studying the link between research variables.
Measurements
The research measurements will be ordinal, nominal, discrete, and continuous because of collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. In this case, the research will incorporate whole, fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers when describing the characteristics of the research variables. Similarly, the analysis will also incorporate the non-numerical description of the variables to distinguish them from one another.
In this case, variables such as time of search and rescue period, efficiency, cost of hardware and software, number of errors, length of battery life or usage, professional training expenses, number of rescued victims of disasters, exposure risks, situational awareness, levels of stakeholder buy-in, exposure to environmental barriers, and technical issues will be the variables and measurements for the analysis.
Statistical Tests
The data analysis of the research will only use the t-statistical test to examine the validity of the research hypothesis.
Required Resources
Secondary and primary sources of information will be essential in collecting and analyzing data during the research. For instance, the study will include research reports, peer-reviewed journals, and news articles during data collection and analysis procedures. When incorporating online resources, publication dates, authorship, and database credibility will be key. The research will include resources published by reputable disaster management and media organizations such as CNN, BBC, Red Cross, and World Vision. In addition, the study will only include resources published between 2017 and 2022 to reduce the risk of incorporating outdated research data.
Project Timeline
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