RSSAP Offers Satellite View of New Orleans
By Nate Mook | Published September 2, 2005, 1:18 PM
The Associated Press has released an online tool for viewing satellite images of the situation in New Orleans. Users can zoom in on specific neighborhoods and streets, and view the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding throughout the city.
The high-definition satellite imagery was taken on Wednesday by DigitalGlobe; resolution is at 2.4 meters per pixel. Viewers can see what areas are still submerged in water and potentially whether their house still exists. The AP says it will be updating the tool as new images become available.
It will be amazing to see when the imagery is posted closer to "real-time" in the future. The implications are immense. I remember as a kid (I'm 41 now) thinking how cool it would be to have a virtual "model" that could show really up to date info, unlike an "old-style" globe. To see Google Earth the first time was fantastic. I still think it's one of the coolest things to come from the Internet age.
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|While the views may not be perfect in detail, it's a great effort on the part of the Associated Press to try to do something to help people determine the status of their neighborhoods. Considering the quality of satellite photo service available to the federal government, they might have attempted to do something like this for the hurricane victims. Obviously, there is a lot of anxiety, since people have no way to know what's left of their lives and the AP is trying to help. They should be commended for the effort.
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|Well spoken, I agree completely. In times like this we should all pitch in and help in any way we can. This is just one way the AP is trying to help.
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|Just go to the digital globe website and look at the media pictures. Very high detail. Very disturbing.
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|pretty limited. wish I could zoom in further to actually make out buildings, but it's just a blur. I guess google maps satelite view has raised my expectations.
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|lol...if it were Google, you could see what it looked like before the flood. :P
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|How wrong you are - Google has already posted Google Earth overlays of the New Orleans / Biloxi area that contain hirez imagery of the affected areas. See http://earth.google.com/katrina.html
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|It was a joke.
Nice to see they've updated though. On the news this morning, their map of LA was the Google-Earth map (even had the logo on it).
Very cool.
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