New satellite maps of Haiti coming in

New satellite maps of Haiti coming in
Damage evaluation map based on satellite data over the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti, following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks that hit the Caribbean nation on 12 January. Map based on data from CNES's SPOT-5, JAXA's ALOS and the U.S.-based GeoEye-1 satellites; processed by SERTIT. Credits: CNES, JAXA, GeoEye, SERTIT

As rescue workers scramble to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands of people following Haiti's earthquake, Earth observation satellite data continues to provide updated views of the situation on the ground.

Following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit on 12 January, international agencies requested satellite data of the area from the International Charter on 'Space and Major Disasters'.

The Charter, an international initiative aimed at providing satellite data free of charge to those affected by disasters anywhere in the world, immediately began re-tasking their satellites to get the data urgently needed.

Data are being collected by various satellites including Japan's ALOS, CNES's Spot-5, the U.S.'s WorldView and QuickBird, Canada's RADARSAT-2, China's HJ-1-A/B and ESA's ERS-2 and .

These data are being processed into maps that show the degree of destruction. As soon as new data arrives, updated maps will be produced and made available to the international community. The updates may be accessed by clicking on the links on the right.

Other missions that are complementing those from the Charter include Germany’s TerraSAR-X, Italy’s COSMO-SkyMed, South Korea’s KOMPSAT-2 and the U.S.-based GeoEye-1.

Citation: New satellite maps of Haiti coming in (2010, January 15) retrieved 28 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2010-01-satellite-haiti.html
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