Jiaxing city in Zhejiang province uses drones to monitor safety as Typhoon Gaemi approaches. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As Typhoon Gaemi approaches, Zhejiang province is entering its most intense period of storms and rain. In response to the typhoon's potential impact and to ensure the safety of its waters, the maritime safety administration of Jiaxing, Zhejiang, has leveraged the high flexibility, wide-angle, and extensive coverage capabilities of drones to deploy typhoon defense measures, aiding in the safe supervision of typhoon activities.

Jiaxing has 74.1 kilometers of coastline, including numerous concentrated fishing boat berthing areas and many water construction projects underway.

Drones conduct regular aerial patrols of docks, water projects, channels, anchorages, and fishing boat berthing areas. The patrols enable real-time and rapid monitoring of typhoon defense measures for vessels in port, identifying and eliminating potential hazards related to navigation and typhoon defense.

Zhang Feihu, a first-class administrative law enforcement officer at the Jiaxing Maritime Safety Administration, said, "We have several concentrated fishing boat berthing areas in our region where the water is too shallow for patrol boats to navigate. Drone patrols are more convenient. If fishing boats venture out to sea, drones equipped with loudspeakers can quickly call them back. These preventative measures must be in place before the typhoon hits, as strong winds could potentially hinder drone operations."