How Drones Helped Rescue Teams Reach Flood-Hit Families in Gujarat

The latest spell of monsoon rain has brought more than just heavy showers to Gujarat.

Floodwaters have submerged homes, disrupted livelihoods and left hundreds of people stranded as rescue teams race against time to reach those trapped.

Across several affected areas, familiar roads disappeared beneath muddy currents. Entire neighbourhoods were cut off, leaving families stranded on rooftops, inside schools and in waterlogged homes. For many, rescue was no longer a matter of distance but of access.

While the Army, local authorities and emergency responders worked tirelessly to evacuate people, another kind of support was taking shape in the skies.

In Dholka, drones helped rescuers locate stranded residents, assess flooded areas and deliver essential supplies to places that had become nearly impossible to reach.

A startup steps into the rescue effort

Among the organisations supporting the operation was Prime UAV, a drone technology company based in Mehsana, Gujarat.

Founded in 2019 by Pradip Patel and Hiten Patel, the startup develops unmanned aerial solutions for agriculture, infrastructure inspections, mapping, surveying and disaster response. It is also recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

Over the years, the company has expanded beyond commercial drone services to build expertise in aerial surveillance, mapping and customised drone solutions — capabilities that become especially valuable during natural disasters, when speed, visibility and access can make a critical difference.

This was not the company’s first emergency deployment.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime UAV supported local authorities with sanitisation efforts and lockdown monitoring. In 2020, it also deployed drones during the locust invasion that affected crops across Gujarat and Rajasthan.

According to CEO Pradip Patel, those experiences shaped the team’s disaster-response approach and reinforced the role drones can play during public emergencies.

Reaching places rescuers couldn’t

When reports emerged that people were stranded in Dholka, the Prime UAV team immediately mobilised and joined local authorities and relief personnel.

“When we learned that children and residents were stranded due to severe flooding in the Dholka region, we felt an immediate responsibility to act. We strongly believe that technology should serve society during times of crisis,” tells Patel to The Better India.

“Within 30 minutes of receiving the information, our emergency response team, along with rescue and surveillance drones, was mobilised and dispatched to the affected area.”

In several locations, rescue teams first used tractors and boats to reach flood-hit areas before drones surveyed the terrain from above.

The drones provided real-time aerial views of inundated neighbourhoods, helping responders identify stranded people and assess the scale of flooding. Their role became even more valuable after sunset, when poor visibility made ground operations increasingly difficult.

According to the company, the drones continued monitoring flooded areas through the night, giving rescue teams a clearer picture of conditions on the ground.

Patel says features such as GPS-enabled location tracking, live aerial feeds and payload delivery systems proved especially useful during the operation.

The live footage helped responders identify priority locations and plan safer routes through floodwaters. Meanwhile, customised payload systems enabled essential supplies to reach places inaccessible by road or boat.

Although Prime UAV did not carry out evacuations directly, its drones strengthened ongoing rescue operations by helping teams locate stranded residents, assess inaccessible areas and make faster decisions.

“The mission demonstrated how drones can significantly improve situational awareness and response efficiency during disasters,” Patel says.

Technology supporting people

At its heart, this story is not about drones.

It is about families waiting to be rescued, children sheltering in schools, emergency workers navigating dangerous conditions and communities coming together during a crisis.

Technology simply gave those responders another tool.

Drones cannot replace rescue workers, but they can help them locate stranded people more quickly, assess risks in real time and deliver supplies to areas that remain cut off.

The collaboration between emergency responders and technology providers in Dholka shows how innovation can strengthen traditional rescue efforts rather than replace them.

A new chapter in disaster response

As extreme weather events become more frequent and monsoon floods continue to affect communities across India, technology is becoming an increasingly important part of disaster management.

In Gujarat, amid rising floodwaters and widespread disruption, Prime UAV’s intervention offered a glimpse of how locally developed technology can support emergency responders when every minute counts.

The real story is not the drones themselves, but the people they helped rescuers reach — a reminder that innovation, when used for the public good, can become a lifeline in times of crisis.

Sources:

Prime UAV

‘Gujarat floods: Drone startup helps in Dholka rescue operations’ by Press Trust Of India.

‘Ahmedabad Floods, The Reality Check: Concrete Above, Empty Pipes Below’ by Gujarat Samachar, Published on 26 July 2026.

‘Drone startup aids flood rescue in Gujarat as Army evacuates over 790, IMD forecasts easing rain’, The Times of India, Published on 27 July 2026.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com