In Bangladesh, drone and GIS mapping tools come to the aid of designing disaster shelters during COVID-19

Through an unprecedented year, several World Bank projects have used innovative tools to continue implementation. The World Bank’s Emergency Multi-Sector Rohingya Crisis Response Project (EMCRP) stepped up to accelerate the use of digital tools to provide remote support. By using drone images and Geographic Information System (GIS), the World Bank supported the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) to design complex multistoried structures remotely without physical access to the construction sites.

COVID-19 Shutdown

Since March to October 2020, LGED had no access to the sites due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which halted the implementation process of the World Bank’s Emergency Multi-Sector Rohingya Crisis Response Project (EMCRP).

As part of the project, the World Bank is supporting Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) to construct arclimate-resilient multi-purpose disaster shelters/community service centers (MPSC) and the solar photovoltaic nano-grid schemes, of which more than half will be installed on the roof of the  shelters.

Due to the COVID-19 shutdown, the project team could not undertake topographic surveys to design the layouts. This substantially delayed the technical design of both MPSCs as well as solar nano-grid schemes.

The layout and orientation of a structure are critical to preparing the associated technical outputs for construction such as procurement documents, etc. Furthermore, an orientation of MPSCs from north-south alignment can enable optimum utilization of roof space for the solar nano-grids.

Remote design with data

With no access to the sites for the safety of the people, could LGED design the layout with orientation remotely?

One possible answer might be to use Geographic Information System (GIS) data to enable mapping. However, the challenge remained regarding access to reliable and extensive geospatial data to visualize the potential sites.

LGED acquired Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of MPSC sites and georeferenced drone images of DRP camps. And yet, the availability of both these datasets was only the first step. The challenging task was the integration of these datasets in coordination with different officials who were in different locations due to countrywide lockdown.

“We started with simple steps by using drone images and GPS coordinates. We superimposed the GPS data over the georeferenced drone image to visually represent the site condition, layout, and orientation. The whole real-time coordination with the architect, structural engineer, field engineer, safeguards specialists and the World Bank team was done using a video conference system.” said Javed Karim, LGED Project Director.

The data facilitated evidence-driven decision making. Accordingly, LGED carried a thorough analysis and identified the orientation of these disaster shelters (e.g., X degree towards east/west).

Similarly, LGED used drone images to analyze each nano-grid scheme's capacity per MPSCs with the number of solar panels and other equipment.

“We will be able to use this in the remaining components of the project as well as other LGED projects, including the roads projects,” added Mr. Karim. “We will use these tools in a resource-constrained environment due to COVID 19 pandemic.”

Lessons Learned

Due to COVID-19, these tools are potentially game-changers in conducting evidence-based implementation support. But even without a pandemic, drones can be a useful tool in the broader context of project implementation when combined with GIS.

“This has been an unprecedented year due to the pandemic. The World Bank can leverage this experience and knowledge accumulated from this time in the use of drones/GIS to provide remote implementation support for projects, These tools are going to bring innovation and efficiency to deliver high-quality support to our clients,” said Swarna Kazi, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank.

The World Bank has reached out to other government agencies of such as Bangladesh Water Development Board, Department of Public Health Engineering, etc. to share the benefits of remote supervision tools in project preparation and implementation.