On 30 Aug and 31 Aug, planes from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geodetic Survey (Remote Sensing Division) flew over affected areas in Katrina’s wake, gathering images of the storm’s aftermath. By combining these images with U.S. Geological Service data (including LANDSAT 7 imagery, streamflow information, and a LIDAR survey), scientists will be able to get a sense of the damage wrought.

But what about us mere mortals? The answer, as ever, seems to be Google. For (many) addresses in New Orleans, Google has now provided an overlay of the NOAA images in Google Maps. Zoom in on a New Orleans address and in addition to the usual ‘Map’, ‘Satellite’, and ‘Hybrid’ options, you’ll find a red ‘Katrina’ button. Alternating the ‘Satellite’ and ‘Katrina’ options can make a chillingly effective before and after series. For one example, consider this image (Click the ‘Katrina’ button for a post-flood view.) Those with Google Earth can get an even more sophisticated view.

For an on-the-ground view, the NYT interactive features are blowing me away… (See lower-right box, click “Storm and Crisis.”)

This entry was posted on Monday, September 5th, 2005 at 4:49 pm and is filed under Miscellany.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.