The International Charter Space and Major Disasters aims at delivering the latest space aquired information to those affected by natural or man-made disasters. 

An Authorized User can call a single number to request the mobilization of the space and associated ground resources (RADARSAT, ERS, ENVISAT, SPOT, IRS, SAC-C, NOAA satellites, LANDSAT, ALOS, DMC satellites and others) of the member agencies to obtain data and information on a disaster occurrence.
A 24-hour on-duty operator receives the call, checks the identity of the requestor and verifies that the User Request form sent by the Authorized User is correctly filled up.
The operator passes the information to an Emergency On-Call Officer who analyzes the request and the scope of the disaster with the Authorized User, and prepares an archive and acquisition plan using available space resources.

Data acquisition and delivery takes place on an emergency basis, and a Project Manager, who is qualified in data ordering, handling and application, assists the user throughout the process.

Jacmel, Haïti. Damaged building density map and gathering areas. Click for higher resolution version.

The European and French space agencies (ESA and CNES) initiated the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters", with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) signing the Charter on 20 October 2000. Several agencies subsequently joined the Charter as member. Each member agency has committed resources to support the provisions of the Charter and thus is helping to mitigate the effects of disasters on human life and property.

Source: www.disasterscharter.org