Drones could deliver flood relief, says Malaysian Minister

Malaysia could use drones to deliver aid to flooded areas, Communications and Multimedia Deputy Minister Jailani Johari has suggested. On a visit to Switzerland’s, he witnessed Swiss Postal’s new drone postal trials.

“This project could be applied in Malaysia in the future, such as [for] goods delivery at temporary flood shelters,” he said. The drones used by the Swiss Postal company can carry upto 1kg for 10km, he added. It has been testing the service since July and plans to launch it in five years.

Minister Johari is also interested in how the company collected data on residents’ locations to build its flight routes system. The government is preparing for year-end floods which displaced 250,000 people last year.

The Ministry of Science and Technology recently launched a drone to monitor flooded areas, taking 3D images and sending them in real-time to agencies.

You may also want to read about these five great government drone projects in the region.