Afghanistan

A joint project between DigitalGlobe and many volunteers has helped in the eradication of polio through mapping of villages in developing countries during vaccination campaigns. The mapping of the often isolated settlements was complicated and apart from analysing big data captured by satellites, DigitalGlobe had to rely on volunteers and crowdsourcing based on the Tomnod programme. The final result is a map covering 285,103 villages in Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

These maps are used to ensure that vaccination campaigns have the required data to search for everyone who needs to be immunized against the illness and know the amount of medical doses and human staff that ought to be sent. In the past two months polio was finally eliminated from the whole African continent after it disappeared... read more

In 2004 the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) began working in partnership to rebuild the country's geologic science capacities. The goal is to monitor Afghanistan's water resources by applying modern techniques using global positioning systems, hydrology, water sampling and development of water resource databases.

During the first year of this partnership over 150 wells were inventoried creating a data subset. Today, the programme is successfully installed and 102 ... read more

The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) made an appeal for greater support for disaster risk reduction efforts in the country.

As UN-SPIDER reported, the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters was activated over the weekend due to mudslides in the Province Badahkshan. Officials expect the death toll to reach over 500 people, 4000 are displaced.

Environmental degradation and the proximity of villages to landslides-prone area were the major factors influencing the scope of the disaster. “What happened over the week end in Argu is a lesson learned for all of us who are working to reduce disaster risk,” said Mohammad Ajmal Karimi, ANDMA... read more

For the first time, about 70 percent of a country has been mapped using an advanced remote sensing technique known as hyperspectral imaging. In order to assist Afghanistan in understanding their abundant natural resources, in particular the development of an economically viable minerals market, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations led an effort to fully map Afghanistan with hyperspectral data.

Airborne hyperspectral sensors measure light reflected from the earth. The... read more

Rainfall and torrential flooding in western province of Herat has devastated many areas, killing some 14 people, including seven children, injuring 30 others, damaging more than 250 houses and destroying around 300 hectares of agricultural land.

Source: GlideNumber

Two earthquakes killed at least 22 people and destroyed several hundred homes when they struck two hours apart in eastern Afghanistan (17/04/2009).

Source : Glide number

Ressources from OCHA/Reliefweb, click here

According to assessments conducted to date, floods have affected approximately 10,000 households in five provinces in the Northern region (Jawzjan, Faryab, Balkh, Samangan and Sari Pul) and four provinces in the Northeastern region (Kunduz, Baghlan, Takhar and Badakhshan). Flooding in the north and northeast is expected to continue and worsen, due to heavy rains and to snow melting.

Source : Charter activation

Flash floods killed at least 10 people and destroyed hundreds of houses in different parts of Kandahar Province, southern Afghanistan, on 7 February, according to the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS).

Source: GlideNumber