From Reuters:

China on Saturday launched two satellites it said would monitor the environment and help reduce natural disasters, Xinhua news agency reported.

The satellites, fired from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern Shanxi Province, would help forecast and monitor floods, droughts, earthquakes, pest outbreaks on cropland and other disasters, the agency’s online news service said.

From Xinhua:

. . . The move was a part of the country’s efforts to create a satellite constellation with four optical satellites and four synthetic aperture radar satellites running in space at the same time.

The constellation, once completed, would enable China to have dynamic, all-weather and round-the-clock monitoring service for natural disasters and ecological environment.

The satellites were also expected to provide quick assessments of damage to guide rescue and reconstruction work.