[Satellite Today – 5-9-08] U.K.-based satellite imaging company DMCii Ltd. is providing data to the United Nations to assist in relief efforts in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in the wake of the devastation created by Cyclone Nargis, DMCii announced May 9
    Images collected by DMCii’s UK-DMC satellite are being used by the United Nation’s UNOSAT to detect floodwater and estimate the likely impact on villages and townships. The images, which have a ground resolution of 32 meters, are compared with those recorded prior to the cyclone in order to predict the spread of post-disaster floodwaters.
    Imagery acquired by DMCii,  a subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., also 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 also supplied pre-disaster archived imagery to enable comparisons and for the production of emergency maps. The International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” is an initiative to provide free satellite imagery to relief organizations of areas affected by disasters.
    Separately, Public Safety Canada activated the International Charter  to use the two Radarsat satellites to monitor flooding in New Brunswick, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced May 7.
    This is the first time the advanced capabilities of Radarsat-2 were used in an emergency context, the CSA.