DJI Drones Deliver Food and Remove Bodies in Nepal Flood Relief

Mount Everest‑supply drones are now being deployed to aid flood‑stricken regions of Nepal, officials said on Thursday. DJI’s commercial quadcopters, long used by expedition teams to deliver food, medicine and gear to high‑altitude camps, have been repurposed by the government’s disaster‑management agency to map inundated valleys, locate stranded residents and deliver emergency supplies.

The drones, equipped with high‑resolution cameras and GPS‑enabled payloads, are flying over the Terai plains and the Kathmandu valley to create real‑time flood‑extent maps that guide rescue teams. In addition, they are dropping small medical kits and water purification tablets to isolated villages that are cut off by swollen rivers. “The technology that keeps climbers alive at 8,000 meters is now saving lives in the lowlands,” said a spokesperson for Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Centre.

As the monsoon season continues to trigger widespread flooding, the rapid deployment of DJI drones is expected to improve coordination between relief agencies and speed up the delivery of critical aid. The initiative underscores the growing role of commercial UAVs in humanitarian operations across the Himalayan region.