From Drone Class to Rescue Mission

A group of student drone pilots in Mozambique proved a new rescue network saves lives.

Courtesy of African Development Bank (AfDB)

Participants in the Drone-Based Disaster Management Project hold up a banner showing the flags of South Korea and Mozambique.

Imagine you begin a training program to learn a new job—flying drones over areas affected by natural disasters. Now, imagine that in the middle of this training, a real emergency happens and you must spring into action. This exact scenario happened to a group of 30 drone pilot students in Mozambique. Thanks to their new skills and quick action, the pilots helped save people from a disastrous flood.

The Drone-Based Disaster Management Project in Mozambique began in April 2025, with instructors from South Korea training 30 new pilots to fly drones over landscapes after floods, mudslides, hurricanes, or other weather events occur. Once trained, the drone pilots would be able to help search and rescue teams find stranded people or assist local communities to identify building and road damage.

Residents wade through floodwater near Maputo, Mozambique, after heavy rains in January 2026.

But natural disasters do not wait until training is over. In January 2026, weeks of rainfall caused a massive flood of the Incomáti River in a community just north of the capital city of Maputo. Despite being only partway through the training course, the drone pilot students responded to the emergency. Using their new skills, the pilots flew the drones over the flood zone to map out flooded roads and find families stranded in their homes. This helped rescue teams find and rescue the flood victims. As a result, zero fatalities were recorded during the flood.

Courtesy of African Development Bank (AfDB)

Drone-Based Disaster Management Project instructors show students how to operate a drone.

The trainees have since graduated the program, and the country has a fleet of experts ready to spring into action again when emergency strikes.

“This project marks a major leap forward—not only in technology but also in how we respond to emergencies,” said local Mozambique councilmember Márcia Moiane in an article from the African Development Bank Group. “It means we can act faster and smarter, saving more lives.”

Did You Know?

In January 1919, a flood unlike any other flowed through Boston, Massachusetts, when a molasses storage tank burst. Two million gallons of a sticky sugar syrup called molasses gushed through the city, causing major damage and knocking over buildings.

This 1919 photo shows rescue workers at the scene of the Boston molasses flood.

From Covid to World Record

Shin Ohashi poses with the medals he earned at the 2026 Asian Games.

Japanese teenager Shin Ohashi set a new swimming world record in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke at the 2026 Asian Games. But just a few days before smashing the record with his time of 2 minutes 4.83 seconds, the 17-year-old found himself burning with a fever and worried he wouldn’t be able to compete at all.

“With the Covid, it made me feel uneasy mentally,” said Ohashi in an interview with the Guardian. “But on the other hand it meant I was forced to rest my body properly for a while. I think that was a good thing.”

Ohashi competes in the 200-meter breaststroke final at the 2026 Asian Games.

That rest may have given Ohashi the extra burst he needed to not only beat the world record but also win two gold medals at the Asian Games, which is the world’s second-biggest multisport event after the Olympic Games. Ohashi also won a gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke when he tied with Chinese swimmer Dong Zhihao.

Ohashi is now the youngest male swimmer to break an individual world record in an Olympic-size swimming pool since Michael Phelps, who set 39 world records in his career. Ohashi’s speed and success have boosted his Olympic prospects as he works his way toward the upcoming 2028 games in Los Angeles.

Flood Legends

© Hulton Fine Art Images—Heritage Images/Getty Images, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library (113750), © CM Dixon/Print Collector—Hulton Archive/Getty Images, © Historic Collection/Alamy; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Each of these images shows a depiction of a legendary flood.

Humans have been telling each other legends of great floods for thousands of years, and some archaeological records show that these stories are inspired by real-life events. Read more about popular flood legends and their origins at Britannica!

WORD OF THE WEEK

torrent

PART OF SPEECH:

noun

Definition:

: a large amount of water that moves very quickly in one direction

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