Drones Deliver Food and Water to Students Stranded by Typhoon Floods in China
Typhoon Saudel floods stranded 2,500+ students in Zhejiang. Drones airdropped food and water while authorities cleared landslides blocking a mountain village.
In the aftermath of Typhoon Saudel, authorities in eastern China's Zhejiang province deployed heavy-lift drones on Wednesday to deliver food and drinking water to more than 2,500 teachers and students trapped by severe flooding at a vocational school in Cangnan County, Wenzhou City.
The school, situated on low-lying ground, was rapidly inundated after extreme downpours associated with the typhoon. Saudel, the 18th typhoon of the season, had made landfall twice along the Zhejiang coast the previous Friday.
Following the activation of emergency rescue protocols, multiple medium and large-sized drones were used to reach a designated safety zone on the campus. The timely airdrop provided critical relief to those stranded and bought crucial time for subsequent operations, including drainage, sludge removal, and the resettlement of personnel.
Elsewhere in the province, persistent heavy rain triggered rockfalls and landslides along the only road leading to a remote mountain village in Rui'an City. Debris completely blocked the route, cutting off access. Local authorities have coordinated with emergency response teams to begin debris removal as soon as the rain subsides.
Officials confirmed that villagers were relocated quickly after flood warnings were issued, and no one remains trapped in the mountain settlement.
Meteorological forecasts warn that the risk of secondary disasters, such as further landslides and collapses, remains high. The combined effect of multiple recent typhoons and continuous rainfall has left the soil in mountainous areas highly saturated.