ERS and SPOT satellites to help France and Germany
In the aftermath of the two violent storms that swept through France and Germany between 26 and 28 December 1999, two ERS satellites and three SPOT satellites are providing day to day information on the disaster-struck areas. The satellites, belonging to the European Space Agency and the French national space agency, CNES, are beaming in images which can be compared with those taken before the storms to assess how badly damaged forests are in the affected areas. The result are made available for use by regional, national and European level decision-makers to draw up an overall inventory of the damages. The European Space Agency and CNES's response to the emergency is a direct result of a commitment they made on 22 July 1999 at the Unispace II conference, pledging to provide rapid, useful satellite data during natural catastrophes.
Kraje
Germany