Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for disaster management

“Natural disasters threaten human life, Earth's ecosystems, and countries’ economies. In the last two decades, the number and severity of natural disasters has significantly increased. Wireless communications and sensing are among other technologies promising improved disaster management. With the advancement, low cost, and flexibility of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), novel and dynamic communications and sensing solutions can be deployed at regions at risk in limited time. In this chapter, recent UAV-assisted network architecture and design considerations for disaster management are highlighted. Potential UAV-assisted networking solutions for disaster management are discussed and categorized based on the disaster type and phase. Case studies for UAV-assisted networks for earthquake recovery, wildfire detection, and biological diseases management are deeply discussed, highlighting implementation challenges and possible UAV-assisted solutions.”.