DMC captures Burma flood satellite images

Thursday, May 8. 2008
In the news

DMC imagery taken today by the UK-DMC satellite of Burma (Myanmar) shows the

Burma cyclone image
Rangoon (Yangon) area and flooded southern coastal regions. DMC imagery acquired of the region is being supplied to project managers of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" to be processed into information products that determine flood extents. DMCii has also supplied pre-disaster archive imagery to enable comparisons with post-disaster imagery for the production of emergency maps.

You can also find Burma cyclone images on the UNOSAT website.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in In the news, Multimedia at 13:21 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
Defined tags for this entry: , , , ,
Bookmark DMC captures Burma flood satellite images at del.icio.us Digg DMC captures Burma flood satellite images Bloglines DMC captures Burma flood satellite images Technorati DMC captures Burma flood satellite images Bookmark DMC captures Burma flood satellite images at YahooMyWeb Bookmark DMC captures Burma flood satellite images at reddit.com Bookmark DMC captures Burma flood satellite images at NewsVine

DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers

Tuesday, April 29. 2008
In the news

Volcano, Ecuador © NASRDA
The Disaster Monitoring Constellation's (DMC) operating company, DMCii, has been training up additional members to support emergency operations. These new Emergency on Call Officers (ECO) will expand the existing team to support the world's earth observing satellite feet in the event of major natural disasters.

Following recent training event, DMCii now provides 3 Emergency on Call Officers to service the International Charter for Space and Major Disasters. When the Charter is activated for a Major International natural disaster, the ECO's use there expertise to select and task different types of satellite appropriate to the disaster. For example, so far In 2008 DMCii ECO staff responded to flooding in Vietnam, Bolivia, USA and the Tungurahua Volcano in Ecuador.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in Cooperation, In the news at 13:51 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
Defined tags for this entry: , , , ,
Bookmark DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers at del.icio.us Digg DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers Bloglines DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers Technorati DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers Bookmark DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers at YahooMyWeb Bookmark DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers at reddit.com Bookmark DMCii ups Emergency on Call Officers at NewsVine

DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada

Monday, April 14. 2008

DMC hands leadership of International Charter: "Space & Major Disasters" to Canadian Space Agency (16th April 2008, Montreal, CANADA)

At the 19th board meeting of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters in Montreal the DMC will hand the leadership of the Charter to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). During the DMC's 6 month period as lead agency (primus inter pares) from October 2007 to April 2008 the Charter has responded to 18 disasters and finalised the integration of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) as a new Charter member.

The DMC is been represented on the Board of the Charter by the British National Space Centre (BNSC) and within the executive secretariat by DMCii. Leadership of the International Charter Board and secretariat rotates among the member agencies every six months.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in Cooperation, Space at 13:37 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
Defined tags for this entry: , , ,
Bookmark DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada at del.icio.us Digg DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada Bloglines DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada Technorati DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada Bookmark DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada at YahooMyWeb Bookmark DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada at reddit.com Bookmark DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada at NewsVine

Satellites help save lives

Monday, October 22. 2007

The UK is taking charge of an international group providing satellite data to support disaster relief across the world. The British National Space Centre and DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) will lead the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” from October 2007 until April 2008.

The Charter was set up in 2000 to provide satellite data and imagery to help governments and aid agencies plan emergency relief following major disasters. It has provided valuable information to relief agencies after earthquakes, floods, landslides and volcanic eruptions.

Dave Hodgson
When the Charter is activated, Earth observation satellites operated by 14 international organisations are made freely available. The satellites provide data which is then used to produce maps and other information for emergency response efforts.

The UK-built Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) is a key member of the Charter. The five satellites were built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and are owned individually by Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and the UK.

DMCii will chair the Charter Secretariat. DMCii Managing Director David Hodgson said: “Imagery from the DMC has been provided for more than 50 disasters and is particularly valuable in monitoring fires and floods.

“DMCii is also proud to provide regular emergency on-call services to the Charter and to task the world’s Earth observing satellites in response to disasters.”

Minister for Science and Innovation Ian Pearson said: “The UK is proud to lead this important group. We often think of space as being somewhere to explore, but it can also bring enormous benefits to us here on Earth."

Disaster Monitoring is one of the more direct forms of benefit from space, making it easier for the public to comprehend. The Charter is frequently called into action, or in Charter terms "activated". Charter members have been called on 34 times so far this year including on 14 September after floods devastated 12 countries in West Africa. The Charter was also activated in the aftermath of Hurricane Felix which hit Nicaragua and Honduras on 4 September 2007. The UK has activated the Charter twice this summer following the floods in north and south west England. Satellite data and images were used to produce maps of the flooded areas to help the Environment Agency assess the full extent of the damage.

Posted by Robin Wolstenholme in Cooperation, Space at 09:47 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
Defined tags for this entry: , , , , , , ,
Bookmark Satellites help save lives at del.icio.us Digg Satellites help save lives Bloglines Satellites help save lives Technorati Satellites help save lives Bookmark Satellites help save lives at YahooMyWeb Bookmark Satellites help save lives at reddit.com Bookmark Satellites help save lives at NewsVine
(Page 1 of 2, totaling 5 entries) » next page