S. Korea sends satellite pictures to help Peru deal with flood

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has sent high-resolution satellite photos
to Peru to help facilitate recovery efforts in the flood-stricken Cuzco region,
the Seoul government said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the Arirang 2 satellite
took pictures of a 1,500 square kilometer area on the eastern part of Cuzco. The
photos are being sent to Lima to give authorities a better understanding of the
devastation caused by last months flood.
Peru declared a state of emergency for Cuzco in the southern interior of the
country after two weeks of rain caused landslides and river banks to burst.
The ministry said the South American country had been getting photos from the
International Charter on Space and Major Disasters -- a United Nations affiliated
body -- but request higher definition in the pictures it was receiving.
The International Charter photos had a resolution of 2.5 square meters while the
Arirang 2 can provide 1 square meter shots, fine enough to distinguish individual
cars.
"South Korean and Peru's space organizations signed a pact in late 2008 that
outlined space-related cooperation and sharing of information," an official here
said.
The memorandum of understanding was reached between the state-run the Korea
Aerospace Research Institute and Peru's National Commission for Aerospace
Research and Development.
The official said the Arirang 2 will take additional photos on Saturday and on
Feb. 11 in the same region.
The use of the satellite follows photos provided to Haiti last month to help
rescue workers and emergency support personnel deal with the killer quake that
hit the Caribbean nation.
The Arirang 2 was launched in July 2006 and is equipped with a multi-spectral
camera. It has taken over 1.23 million photos of the Earth's surface since its
launch.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)

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