Spacers

Satellite Images Aid Haiti Relief Effort

It can't be said enough that the devastation in Haiti from the recent earthquake is a disaster of epic proportions. Estimates begin at 50,000 dead, and the number is rising day by day. Numbers of that magnitude can be difficult for a human to process, and at times like these we do very well at pulling together as a species and donating around the world without regard for political borders. The focus of an international aid effort now is to try and prevent the number from rising any more, but as has been seen in the immediate days after the quake, getting aid to the worst affected areas in Haiti has not been an easy task. Satellite imagery of the area is being used to great effect, coordinated by space agencies across the globe. ESA, the European Space Agency, has combined this imagery to create what is called a 'Damage Elevation Map', essentially a map that illustrates the areas where there is most damage similar to a standard topographic relief map.


Satellite imagery such as this is being donated from around the world as the ongoing relief effort continues. Updated throughout the day, the areas in red show where aid is needed most. We can only hope that the effort can stem the rise of the death toll in the coming days.

Spacers would like to urge its readers to donate through any of the following organizations:

International Red Cross
http://www.icrc.org/

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans Frontières)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

The Reason Project
http://www.reasonproject.org/

Non-Believers Giving Aid
http://givingaid.richarddawkins.net

Atheist Alliance International
http://www.atheistalliance.org/

Atheists United
http://www.atheistsunited.org/

The British Humanist Association
http://www.humanism.org.uk

The Skeptics Society
http://www.skeptic.com/

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
http://www.whitehouse.gov/haitiearthquake_embed

UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org/

Or through any organization of your choice.

Thank you.

SpaceHead