Surveys proved to be our main tasking.
Are surveys important?
It sounds unglamorous to some. But surveys are a key part of what we call ‘getting the right aid to the right people’. That is part of our Purpose.
What sort of surveys?
The World Bank has huge funds that need to be targeted properly, flying their disaster assessors helps that.
When bridges are washed away, a helicopter flight helps engineers work out how best to restore the roads.
A view of the flooded schools from the air helps the Deputy Minister for Education best to direct the country’s resources in the disaster.
Here Mr Alberto Mondlane, the Minister of the Interior is preparing to survey the security of the camps of disaster affected families and so get an overview that he can report to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. It is a privilege to help!
Members of the regional government may also need to fly. The regional governor or his team need to identify the priorities in restoring the roads. The regional police also need to be targeted into providing the best security or best directing the traffic.
For many types of disaster, helicopters are the only way to do these tasks. Floods, landslides, mudslides, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes all disrupt the roads and so make access more difficult. Violent tropical storms are variously called hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons. They can pick up buildings or trees which block the roads and railways. Helicopters are important in the recovery planning them too.
We call these tasks ‘surveys’. They help sustain live affected by disasters. Light helicopters are often faster than heavier machines. So they do them more quickly.
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