The possibility of using drones to deliver humanitarian aid in the wake of natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region will be investigated as part of a new research project.

For the next nine months, a research team funded by the Australian Red Cross and the Department of Foreign Affairs will examine how drones could help in relief efforts.

"After a natural disaster, one of the most critical elements is time," said Peter Walton, Director of International at the Australian Red Cross.

"The aim is [to find out] is this a way to get humanitarian aid to be more effective and faster?"

The team will head to Fiji — hit by Cyclone Winston earlier this year — and other South Pacific countries.

To begin with, researchers will assess what drones can do after a severe cyclone that conventional aircraft, like planes and helicopters, cannot.

After recent cyclones in Fiji and Vanuatu, it was several days before many areas could be safely overflown to assess damage.

"The cloud cover was low, the weather conditions were very poor," said Mr Walton.

"Drones offer us an ability to actually fly at much lower levels. [They] give us the opportunity to get GPS coordinates so we know exactly what has happened where."

Patrick Meier, executive director of WeRobotics and a leading expert in the use of drones in humanitarian assistance, said drones could fill the "vacuum of information" in the wake of a disaster.

"Understanding who has been affected, how badly, and where, is absolutely key. Otherwise you're just guessing," he said.

Based in Washington, DC, Mr Meier will lead the research project in the South Pacific. He also worked in the region in Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam in 2015. His team used drones to assess recovery efforts.

"This is important, because we need to identify the price, the costs of the damage in order to basically be able to rebuild."

PHOTO: The aim of the project is to permanently base drones in South Pacific countries. (ABC News: Norman Hermant)

The study will look at some of the potential issues surrounding the use of drones, such as whether they comply with local aviation laws, and making sure their operation does not offend cultural sensitivities.

Ultimately, the goals will be to permanently base drones in South Pacific countries and train local operators.

"It takes time to fly international teams, it takes money to fly international teams around the world," said Mr Meier.

"Why not work with first responders, who are by definition the local partners and the local communities, and build their capacity?"

The study will also look at what is the holy grail for drone operators who work in humanitarian relief: the possibility that drones could eventually be used to deliver vital emergency supplies, such as medicine and food, to areas isolated after a disaster.

"As Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) become more available, more common, then I think it's absolutely feasible that we could look at dropping essential aid items," said Mr Walton.

"But firstly we have to make sure that it's possible."

The 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami appears to have led to an increase in dementia in the years following the disaster. Scientists have shown the number of people with dementia symptoms trebled in the aftermath, with those who lost their homes, friends and relatives at most risk.

Natural disasters pose major risks for older people – their medical care can be disrupted and they face social isolation as a result of the displacement. While there has been research into the impact natural disasters has on mental health, it has been largely limited to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

However, researchers from the US and Japan have now been able to examine the effect of the natural disaster on mental health thanks to a survey taken carried out shortly before the tsunami struck. In their study published in the journal PNAS, scientists looked at over 3,500 survivors of the disaster aged over 65 to work out if dementia risk increased – and, if so, what factors were behind the rise.

The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study was carried out seven months before the earthquake and tsunami. It looked at the health of older people living in communities around 80km (50m) from the earthquake's epicentre, allowing the team to assess the risk factors for health issues like dementia, stroke and hypertension. Researchers followed up with the survivors two and a half years after the disaster.

Before the tsunami, 4.1% of participants had been assessed as having symptoms of dementia. After the disaster, this rose to 11.5%. They found the biggest impacter was people losing their homes, more so than losing friends and family. People who ended up in temporary housing showed the highest levels of cognitive decline – the greater the damage, the greater the cognitive decline.

"The severity of housing damage was significantly associated with cognitive decline after controlling changes of covariates and risk factors during the follow-up period," the team wrote. "Cognitive decline should be listed as a health risk of older survivors in the aftermath of natural disasters."

"In the aftermath of disasters, most people focus on mental health issues like PTSD," said Hiroyuki Hikichi, lead author of the study. "But our study suggests that cognitive decline is also an important issue. It appears that relocation to a temporary shelter after a disaster may have the unintended effect of separating people not just from their homes but from their neighbours – and both may speed up cognitive decline among vulnerable people."