Jamaica brings in Canadian drones to fly over disaster zones

A tree felled by Hurricane Beryl blocks a street in Kingston, Jamaica, Thursday, July 4, 2024.

Jamaica will use drones donated by Canada to boost its disaster response services, state information service JIS said on Tuesday, as the Caribbean braces for stronger hurricanes in the coming years fueled by warmer oceans resulting from climate change.

Why it’s important

U.S. government forecasters predict an “above-normal” 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, with storms fueled by warmer ocean temperatures and whose development could be boosted by softer westerly winds.

Despite their small greenhouse gas emissions, small island states are particularly vulnerable to effects of climate change. The Caribbean lies in a region where tropical waves that develop off the West African coast can strengthen into powerful storms.

Key quote

Jamaica’s Geographic Information System (GIS) project manager, Okieno Samuels, said in a statement the drones would play a critical role by doing post-disaster risk assessments instead of relying on people who could be placed in dangerous situations.

“We could have an automated response to (disasters); instead of having a person physically go or putting themselves at risk, we could have the drone do a flyover,” he said. Samuels said his office was also training an artificial intelligence model to assess building damages.

The statement did not say how many drones were being donated by Canada.

Context

Erin is the only storm of the 2025 season so far to reach hurricane status. It was one of the fastest storms on record to hit Category 5, in little over 27 hours, but the storm steered clear of land. The hurricane season typically peaks in September.

Last year’s Atlantic season was extremely active, with two Category 5 storms among five major hurricanes. These included Beryl, the earliest such storm on record for the season. The Caribbean nation of Grenada said its small islands battered by the storm could take decades to fully recover from the damage.

By the numbers

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the current season, which lasts through the end of November, will bring six to 10 hurricanes, including three to five of major strength, reaching 111 mph (178 kmh) or higher.

Last year’s season saw 11 Atlantic hurricanes.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland)