Remote system plays key role

After the magnitude-8 earthquake hit Wenchuan in Sichuan province in 2008, it took two days for rescuers to get remote sensory images of the affected sites.

But on Saturday, when disaster struck Ya'an in the province, images of quake-hit areas were provided the same day.

According to Guo Huadong, director of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a huge amount of airborne remote sensing data from Ya'an has now been distributed and shared with 12 ministries and the government of Sichuan.