A Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organ in suburban Beijing has called out for access to UAVs to help deliver emergency relief supplies to areas cut off by floods resulting from Typhoon Doksuri.
The United Front Work Department of CPC Committee in Fangshan, a district of Beijing, today issued an open call for social organizations or individuals to hand over drones and other UAVs to airdrop food and other supplies to people stranded by floods.
It’s rare for a CCP affiliate, rather than a government agency, to make direct public pleas like these, which underscores how desperate the situation in Beijing has got and how technologies like drones can help reach disaster-stricken communities in inaccessible places.
An autonomous helicopter manufactured by FlightWin (航景创新), a company headquartered in Fangshan, recently flew against torrential rain and gales for 63 minutes to drop off 17.5kg of communication tools like emergency cell phones and power banks to people trapped by the floods.
Fangshan has been among the hardest-hit areas of Beijing, after experiencing two days of lashing rain and then downpour.
“The floods are an order, and disaster relief is our responsibility,” said the CPC organ in an open letter. “We hereby ask members of the United Front Work Department to protect themselves while actively taking part in efforts to tame the floods, unite hearts and minds, and fulfill their sense of responsibility through real action.”
Traditionally, the United Front Work Department of CPC Committees at all levels is tasked with managing relations with and influencing elite individuals and organizations inside and outside China, including in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
The department in Fangshan also urged its members to look for drone supplies. Anyone willing to provide assistance can dial the hotline +86 010 89350027 or +86 13910774242.
The Beijing Daily newspaper reported that since the torrential rain hit the Chinese capital on July 29, it unleashed mudslides that swamped many roads and crippled the telecom network in Fangshan, which is about 30 km away from downtown Beijing.
