Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 24, 2008 7:57:06 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Google Tracking Refugees

Posted Apr 8, 08 5:45 PM CDT in World,  Technology 

(Newser) – A new feature allows Google Earth users to take a tour of the world’s refugee hotspots, with images of camps supplemented by information from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the AP reports. The search titan has greatly improved the available resolution in its satellite photos of refugee areas—for example, individual tents are visible in a Chadian camp for Darfur’s displaced.

"All of the things that we do for refugees in the refugee camps around the world will become more visible," said a UN official. Though not initially intended for humanitarian uses, Google Earth realized its higher calling after it was used to coordinate Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Google is considering offering stand-alone version of its mapping software to aid workers on the ground who don't have Internet access.

Source Associated Press

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Darfur Sees New Cycle of Bloodshed, Refugees

    Mar 2, 08 2:32 PM CST
    Darfur Sees New Cycle of Bloodshed, Refugees Darfur may be on a road back to the pitched fighting between rebels, militias and the Sudanese army that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions 5 years ago, prompting the US to call it genocide, the New York Times reports. The Sudanese government recently stepped up operations in the area, creating “a population that is just being attacked from both sides.” More »

  • Darfur's Displaced Battle Hunger, Disease, Raids

    Dec 8, 07 1:05 PM CST
    Darfur's Displaced Battle Hunger, Disease, Raids "It is unsafe for me to go back home and it's not safe here," a resident of Abu Chok, a refugee camp in Darfur currently home to 54,000, tells the Guardian. Residents endure endemic malnutrition, malaria, and typhoid in hopes of security—the camp is 4 miles from a base for African Union forces—but find that government-sponsored attacks follow them everywhere. More »

  • Google Earth Digitizes Genocide

    Apr 13, 07 2:12 PM CDT
    Google Earth has teamed up with the Holocaust Museum to bring the realities of genocide to your MacBook. "Crisis in Darfur" employs Google Earth wizardry to help users visualize the scope of the atrocities currently unfolding in Sudan. Viewers can see over 1,600 damaged and destroyed villages up close. More »

Chadian refugees are seen inside a refugee camp at the border town of Kousseri, Cameroon in this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo)
A young Darfur refugee pushes a makeshift toy past as United Nations peacekeeping police, not seen, patrol in the Abou Shouk refugee camp in North Darfur, Sudan, Sunday Jan. 27, 2008.   (AP Photo/Alfred de Montesquiou)
Google Earth has teamed up with the UNHCR to provide information on refugee camps in its popular mapping software.   (UNHCR)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 5)

Tags

Google  • United Nations  • Darfur  • refugee  • Crisis in Darfur  • Chad  • refugee camp  • Google Earth  • humanitarian aid  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other Technology Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »