Drone survey feeds flood forecast model along Malawi's Rukuru River

UNICEF Malawi ran a pilot with the UK firm ARM and UNICEF’s Office of Innovation to build a flood model for flood-prone districts along the Rukuru River. Drone data company Globhe collected the aerial photos, in a team led by a former student of the African Drone and Data Academy.

The drone data covered about 6,200 hectares in Rumphi and 13,500 hectares in Karonga and was used to generate digital terrain models for a high-resolution flood model. UNICEF’s account describes expected benefits, such as helping communities plan for floods; it reports no measured results, since this was a pilot. It notes the two districts had no functional flood model or early warning system beforehand.