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Satellite technology helping refugees

Aid workers who are trying to house, feed and clothe millions of homeless refugees in the Sudanese region of Darfur are getting a helping hand from advanced mapping technology.

Respond, a European consortium of companies and university groups is using satellite imagery to produce accurate maps that can be used in the field rapidly. The group uses satellites from Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Disaster Monitoring Constellation. The satellite data is transmitted to ground stations. From there, the information makes its way to Respond organisations that specialise in interpreting such data. This kind of detailed interpretation usually takes a couple of months but Respond gets it done in about 12 hours.

Respond supplies maps to aid groups via the web, and on compact disc. But the best map is one you can hold in your hands, especially in remote areas where internet connections and laptops are scarce.

Humanitarian groups in Darfur have been making good use of Respond’s maps. They have come in especially handy during Sudan’s rainy season, when normally dry riverbeds, or wadis, became flooded.

Aid groups say that combination of satellite technology and on-the-ground observation helped keep relief flowing to those who needed it.

posted by: kyawoo at 11:45 | link | comments |
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