Carl Franzen Updated: 13 hours 17 minutes ago [3:12p EST 01/14/10]
(Jan. 14) -- Harrowing pictures of the devastation in Haiti following Tuesday's earthquake have so far come from eyewitnesses on the ground. But Google has revealed a much more comprehensive view of the disaster with photos [ http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/ ] of a post-quake Haiti captured by its eyes in the sky.
Internet users can now download a free file [ http://mw1.google.com/mw-earth-vectordb/haiti/Haiti-Earthquake-nl.kml ] for Google Earth [ http://earth.google.com/ ] that provides an updated aerial view of the main areas affected by the quake around Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. The download also allows users to toggle back and forth between images taken before and after the quake to get a true sense of the scale of the destruction.
Google has also set up a crisis response system [ http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/ ] that solicits donations for organizations working to provide relief to Haitians, including UNICEF, the world's leading international children's organization, and CARE, an organization that combats global poverty.
Besides revealing the collapse of many important buildings and homes, the new Google Earth views show the refugee camps that have sprung up and become filled with the thousands of people displaced and injured by the quake.
Here are some of the most striking shots that we've uncovered so far:
The National Palace (Presidential Palace) After:
Downtown Port-au-Prince, northwest of Presidential Palace After:
Bay of Port-au-Prince (Baie de Port-au-Prince) After:
Satellite Photos of Haiti Before and After the Earthquake
By Betsy Mason January 14, 2010 | 6:07 pm
The pictures and video from on-the-ground reports in Haiti following the magnitude 7 earthquake Tuesday are truly heartbreaking. But it is difficult to imagine the full extent of the damage to that country and its capital, Port-au-Prince, in particular. These new satellite images released Wednesday by Google and GeoEye [ http://picasaweb.google.com/bloglatlong/Haiti# ] show the devastation from above, giving a new view of the severity of this disaster. We’ve posted some of the images here. You can also scan the entire city with Google Earth [ http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/01/haiti-imagery-layer-now-available.html ] as well.
The satellite image above, captured by the GeoEye-1 satellite Wednesday morning, shows the National Palace after the quake. Below is an image from March 2008.
The Stade Sylvio Cator is a 30,000-seat sports arena used for soccer games. Above it is shown surrounded by fallen buildings and rubble Wednesday. People gather on the field, probably camping there after losing their homes or out of fear that their homes could collapse during an aftershock. The stadium is shown below in 2008.
A whole wing of this building that flanks the National Palace appears to have been reduced to rubble by the quake. The intact building is shown below in 2008.
This area near the center of Port-au-Prince has several buildings that appear to have completely collapsed.
People gather in the Champs de Mars plaza adjacent to the National Palace after Tuesday’s earthquake. The plaza contains statues of Haiti’s founding fathers, the French embassy and museums. Below, the area looks serene in 2008.
This building is located in the hills on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
This field appears to be filled with people who are either homeless or afraid to go back inside buildings that may be unstable and prone to collapse in an aftershock.
Multiple buildings have clearly collapsed in this area of Port-au-Prince, and several more appear ready to crumble. Numerous strong aftershocks of magnitude 5 and up have continued to bring down buildings that were damaged and weakened by the mainshock. Below, the same area is shown in 2008.
Virtually an entire block was leveled in this area.
This building near the National Palace in the city center was completely destroyed.
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