Foldable boat, weather-proof drone to improve rescue ops during calamities

A foldable polymer plastic boat and a weather-proof drone seek to change the game in rescue operations during natural calamities and man-made disasters.

The two latest innovations are part of the Mobile Command and Control Vehicle (MOCCOV), according to the latest feature of “Game Changer” in “24 Oras” on Tuesday.

“We really do develop and integrate technologies in the MOCCOV, that we make sure will really be the most efficient tool when it comes to rescue,” said Alexandra Abella, Metro Asia Marketing and Build Corp. managing director.

The foldable boat, which took three years to be developed, features an external engine and is convenient to carry around.

“The existing rescue boats of most LGUs are actually rubber boats so during floods, it usually could be susceptible to puncture… that will inhibit the rescue operations,” said Abella.

Meanwhile, the drone can be controlled via remote control and can provide real-time videos and photos to assess disaster areas. It can also deliver items weighing up to 5 kilos.

“The drone that we use specifically is for rescue operations…They can easily use the drone not just for surveillance but also for transport,” Abella also said.

More than 20 municipalities and cities nationwide are using the MOCCOV.

“Most of our partner DRRMOs told us that one of the most used items on the MOCCOV is actually the foldable boat since it was so easy to deploy,” Abella shared.

Among the cities using the MOCCOV is Caloocan City.

“Na-appreciate natin yung ating foldable boat kasi dito sa Caloocan, critical din kami sa floodings. So para makapag-evacuate ng mga residente natin, yung mga trapped sa low lying areas, naa-assemble namin ito on site and naisasampa namin yung mga residente doon para madala sa safe zone,” said Denver Robles of Caloocan Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

(We really appreciate the foldable boat because Caloocan is very critical during floods. So to evacuate our residents, especially those in low-lying areas, we are assembling it on site and we bring our residents to the safe zone.)

“‘Yung drone, kailangan natin maghatid ng flotation device or life vest or kinakailangan mong magdala ng tubig para maka-survive yung ating mga victim, pwede tayong mag-drop, malaking bagay ‘yun para sa operations natin,” he added.

(We use the drone to deliver flotation devices or life vests, or when we need to bring water supply to our victims, we can use it to drop items during operations.)

The country was recently hit by Severe Tropical Storm Enteng which reportedly killed 20 people.

The amount of infrastructure damaged due to Enteng and habagat have so far soared to P698.9 million, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.—Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News