Chinese-made DJI drones are playing a central role in Nepal's flood relief effort, delivering food to survivors and removing bodies from areas devastated by flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border. The floods struck on 26 August after a partial glacier collapse in the Himalayas sent water, mud and debris crashing through border crossings, valley communities and hydropower sites, and the disaster has since become one of the region's deadliest in recent years.

Nepal's army is using four DJI FlyCart 100 drones, donated by China, to make 10 to 16 aid deliveries daily, each carrying around 132 pounds of supplies via a winch system. As of 9 September, Nepal's official death toll stood at 1,369, with more than 5,000 people still missing, including 587 foreign nationals; over 13,600 people have been rescued and the UN is seeking $20.5 million to help 43,000 affected people. Smaller drones fitted with microphones have also aided search-and-rescue work inside flooded hydropower tunnels, while China has reported 43 deaths and over 500 missing on its side of the border. The drones' use follows their established role supplying Everest expedition camps, a programme that has also become entangled in US-China tech rivalry after Nepal denied a US team permission to fly a rival American drone in May.