Aerial photos taken over Japan reveal just how bad the devastation is across the affected regions hit by the quake and tsunami. On ABC&'s site, these photos show a before and after view of areas such as the Sendai airport pictured above. By moving the center bar across the photos with your mouse, you can see just how much damage occurred.
Google said it is working hard to provide the data directly to response organizations on the ground to aid rescue efforts. That&'s a new use of satellite imagery, since it is happening so soon after the quake hit, and it allows damage assessments in near real-time. People far away from the region can use the maps to see whether their homes or those of their friends and relatives are still standing.
If you ever wondered why it would be useful to have instantly updated, real-time satellite imagery, this is clearly the answer.
Google has more information on disaster resources for those in need on a Crisis Response page in English and Japanese. It is also posting updates on Twitter at @earthoutreach. You can view the images in high-resolution by downloading a KML file and exploring it with Google Earth. You can also see imagery in Google Maps or a Picasa album.
Next Story: 4chan founder: Mark Zuckerberg is a4‚¬Atotally wronga4‚¬¯ about online identity Previous Story: Can Google get social in Texas
Print Email Twitter Facebook Google Buzz LinkedIn Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Delicious Google More&8230'
Companies: Google
Companies: Google
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.com
VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters. Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
Comments