background overview

On July 20, 2016, due to continuous heavy rainfall, the water levels of reservoirs and rivers in Huangmei County, Hubei Province rose sharply, resulting in severe flooding and breach emergencies in some areas. A large number of residents were trapped by the floodwaters. Rescue operations faced multiple challenges including complex water conditions, a wide search area, and low visibility at night.action

Following the disaster, the technical team of CHENGDU TIMESTARS CO., LTD. rushed to the Huangmei County disaster area with the TIM UAV system for emergency relief.

1. Improved search and rescue efficiency, guiding precise rescue

The high‑altitude perspective of the TIM UAV quickly covered large areas of floodwater, greatly reducing search time. It rapidly detected and located trapped persons, and through real‑time video transmission, synchronized their precise positions to ground rescue teams, who then took the fastest route to reach them, achieving an efficient closed loop of "detect and locate, locate and rescue."

2. Assessed hazards and ensured rescue safety

The TIM UAV patrolled key areas such as embankments and breach points, monitored water level changes and engineering hazards, provided information support for flood control decision‑making, and assessed the safety of the rescue environment, avoiding potential risks.

3. Enabled all‑area search and rescue at night and in adverse weather conditions

At night, at dawn, or in poor visibility, visible light observation is extremely ineffective. Using infrared thermal imaging technology, the TIM UAV could quickly and accurately locate trapped persons across large flood areas, solving the blind spot problem of naked‑eye search.

During the 2016 Huangmei County flood rescue operation, CHENGDU TIMESTARS CO., LTD.'s TIM UAV system, particularly its infrared thermal imaging capability, successfully broke through the time and environmental limitations of traditional rescue efforts, extending search operations from daytime to around‑the‑clock, significantly improving the efficiency and success rate of life rescue in large‑scale floods.