Japan Airlines and KDDI SmartDrone Partner to Support Post-earthquake
Damage Assessment in Noto Peninsula
March 12, 2024
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
KDDI SmartDrone Co., Ltd.
We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all those affected and evacuated due to the Noto
Peninsula earthquake in January 2024.
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, President and Group CEO:Yuji Akasaka, hereinafter JAL) and KDDI SmartDrone Co., Ltd. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo,President: Masafumi Hirono, hereinafter KDDI SmartDrone) participated in support activities
to survey the damage using drones from January 19 to February 7, 2024, under thecoordination of the Japan UAS Industry Development Association (JUIDA) in Ishikawa
Prefecture's Suzu City and Wajima City.
As the construction of temporary housing was being rushed In Suzu City, it was necessary
to quickly assess the damage situation at potential construction sites. In response to therequest from Suzu City, aerial drone photography was conducted in each area, including
Horyu-machi, capturing oblique and vertical images creating orthoimages (*1) overlaid onmaps. Additionally, maps overlaying orthoimages and tsunami inundation areas wereprovided to the local governments to clarify the relationship between potential construction
sites and the extent of tsunami inundation, facilitating timely decision-making andimplementation of emergency measures.
In Wajima City, the earthquake caused various damages, including cracks in roads, thereby
requiring inspections of more than 400 bridges. To promptly assess the safety of the bridges,
emergency bridge inspections using drones were conducted.
The utilization of drones enabled the immediate assessment of damages to components suchas the undersides of floorboards, supports, bridge piers, and abutments, which are difficult tovisually inspect. Furthermore, the quick preparation of equipment resulted in reduced on-site
workload and contributed to mitigating secondary disasters.

【Details of Support】
DateRoles

January 19,
2024

January 30-31, 2024

February 6-7, 2024

JAL:
Coordination
with relevant
localgovernments,

JAL: Coordination withrelevant local governments,organizations, and groups,
drone operation, orthoimage
creation

JAL: Coordination with relevant
local governments,organizations, and groups

organizations, and groupsKDDI SmartDrone:
Drone operation

KDDI SmartDrone:
Orthoimage creation

LocationsSuzu City
Suzu City, Ishikawa Pref.
and Wajima
City, IshikawaPref.

Wajima City, Ishikawa Pref.

Contents

Survey ofdrone
requirement

Survey of bridge damage
conditions

Drone-Survey of temporary housing
construction site conditions
Mavic 2 Zoom

Skydio 2+*1 Orthoimages are created by capturing continuous photos directly from above, with 90-70% overlap in theshooting range. These images are then analyzed using photogrammetric techniques and accurately overlaid
onto existing maps. They are utilized for situational analysis by overlaying them with various other informationon the map.

【The situation survey of the temporary housing construction site in Horyu-machi, Suzu
City, Ishikawa Pref. on January 30-31, 2024】

The drone capturing aerial photography to create orthoimages

The map overlaying orthoimages with tsunami inundation areas【The situation survey of bridge damage in Wajima City, Ishikawa Pref. on February 6-7,2024】

JAL and KDDI SmartDrone employees checking the drone flight

Skydio 2 + flying for inspection of floorboards and support

JAL and KDDI SmartDrone aim to accelerate the social implementation of drones,
leveraging this initiative to expand the utilization of drones for assessing post-disasterdamages and addressing the challenges of aging social infrastructure. They also stive toestablish a safe and secure operational management system, promoting the accelerated
integration of drones into society.