China has applied its satellites to help with relief work following a magnitude-6.8 earthquake in southwestern Sichuan Province, according to the Earth Observation System and Data Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

More than 10 satellites, including the Gaofen-3 01/02/03 satellites, a Gaofen-1 D satellite and a Gaojing-1 satellite, were deployed to capture images of the quake-hit areas 10 minutes after the earthquake jolted Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, at 12:52 p.m. Monday.

The Gaofen-3 satellites then obtained synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the quake-hit areas at 7:11 p.m., which helped experts analyze data and learn more about the damage in these areas.

"The acquired images have shown that the epicenter is actually at the intersection of the two fault zones, and it is related to two other earthquakes that happened this year in the province," Xing Jin, director assistant of the Earth Observation System and Data Center of the CNSA, told China Media Group. "The image shows a landslide. It is estimated that many landslides like this have caused road damage in the vicinity of this earthquake."

The images have also shown that the earthquake affected a relatively wide range. The surrounding Hailuogou National Glacier Park, Gongga Shan ("King of Sichuan Mountains" with the highest peak of 7,556 meters) and other places have also been damaged to a certain extent, Xing said. 

The Gaofen-3 01/02/03 satellites are evenly distributed on the same orbital plane, and have worked in a network since April, creating a "sky eye" in space.

The three satellites increased the number of times the Earth is observed and extended global coverage, thus enhancing their performance in the country's marine information development, terrestrial environmental resource monitoring and emergency disaster prevention and mitigation, according to their designer.

The country will continue to dispatch civil and commercial satellites to support disaster prevention and relief efforts, and provide spatial information support for disaster monitoring and decision-making, according to the CNSA.

Besides satellites, other technology also played a role in response to the emergency.

China's large civil unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Wing Loong-2H has been deployed to support emergency communications, according the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

The large UAV flew into the preset mission area at 6:44 p.m. Monday. It helped establish an airborne communication network and sent real-time images of the quake-hit areas, supporting relief work and ensuring rescue operations.

The UAV is equipped with an electro-optical/infrared pod, a SAR, an aerial camera, an emergency communication pod and an emergency transmit drop pod.

The Wing Loong-2H features multiple attributes such as long range, long endurance, high payload and strong environment adaptability, thus making it possible to serve diverse missions in extreme disaster-hit regions where traffic, power supply and network communications are disrupted, according to the AVIC.

In addition, local police used drones to deliver supplies to Moxi Town in the county. As of 9:00 p.m. September 6, eight drones have made more than 120 deliveries of goods.

(With input from Xinhua)