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The amazing things about Google Earth


hurricane

Acquisition of imagery after natural disasters improving

Last week Hurricane Matthews caused widespread devastation, crossing over Haiti, the Bahamas and then up the east coast of the United States. It caused direct damage from the high winds and waves, followed by severe flooding in the US, which is still ongoing. We have been impressed by the amount of imagery that has been made available. Planet Labs supplied imagery of Haiti from before the disaster to help emergency response teams. Then DigitalGlobe and Terra Bella provided imagery of Haiti, the Bahamas and the US from after the event via Google Crisis Response. And finally, NOAA has been supplying aerial imagery of the US coast and the inland flooding as the floods have progressed. You can see the satellite imagery in Google Earth with this KML file from Google Crisis Response and the NOAA aerial imagery with this KML file that we created.

As of this writing, fresh imagery continues to be added to both sets every day:


Les Irois, Haiti.


Greenville, North Carolina. October 15th, 2016. (NOAA imagery)


Kinston, North Carolina. October 15th, 2016. (NOAA imagery)

There have been several other natural disasters this year that had similarly fast responses with imagery.

In April this year, Kumamoto, Japan, experienced a series of large earthquakes. Google managed to capture aerial imagery the day after the first shock and again on the following day after subsequent, more powerful shocks. Whether Google had already been planning to capture imagery there we do not know. Google has since also updated the 3D imagery of Kumamoto.

In August this year, there was a large earthquake in central Italy. We saw some low resolution satellite imagery from Terra Bella, but there was also comprehensive aerial imagery captured almost immediately after the event organised by the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, although sadly that imagery was not made available in Google Earth.

In general, it seems like coverage of natural disasters has been improving. We believe this is due to a several factors:
– There are more satellite imaging companies, with more satellites than ever before.
– There are a number of emergency response programmes that have been getting better and better at obtaining and disseminating imagery, some of which are listed below:

NOAA post Hurricane Matthew imagery in Google Earth

Yesterday we talked about how the NOAA aerial imagery of the eastern US coast in the wake of Hurricane Matthew is available as map tiles. We investigated how to display map tiles in Google Earth and concluded that doing it with a single KMZ file would not be feasible. We also said it wouldn’t be worth setting up a server to serve the necessary KML files, but after some consideration we decided to give it a go.

Rather than generating the hundreds of thousands of KML files necessary to make it work, we realised that we could simply generate KML files dynamically as they are requested. It actually worked a lot better than we expected. We implemented it in JavaScript, initially testing it out with a local instance of Node.js running on a PC which worked very well. We then put the code on a Node.js server running in the cloud (Openshift) and it still works remarkably well.

So, to view the NOAA imagery in Google Earth, simply download this KML file. You should immediately be able to see the thin strip of imagery along the eastern coast of the US. Also note that there are a number of new patches of aerial imagery inland.

As you zoom in, it automatically loads higher resolution imagery almost as seamlessly as native Google Earth imagery. The imagery is arranged in separate layers for batches of imagery captured on different dates. Occasionally there is a problem with layers overlapping, in which case you may see grey squares mixed in with imagery. If you experience this, try turning off some of the layers until you identify which layer has the grey squares, then keep that particular layer off while viewing that location. There are also some locations such as Rocky Mount, North Carolina for example, with multiple sets of imagery captured on different days, so again, try turning off some layers to see the different sets.

The flooding is still ongoing at the time of writing, and NOAA is adding new imagery over time. We will try to keep the server up-to-date over the next few days, so try refreshing the main network-link to see if there are new layers.


Nichols, South Carolina.


Boardman, North Carolina.


Near Galivants Ferry, South Carolina.


A flooded water treatment plant near Smithfield, North Carolina.


Rocky Mount, North Carolina.


Goldsboro, Georgia.

This is just an experiment to learn about the best way to access map tiles in Google Earth. We make no guarantees about how long we will keep the server running.

If you know of any other maps available as map tiles that do not have restrictive licence agreements, let us know in the comments.

More post-Hurricane Matthews imagery

[ Update: See this post for a KML to view to see the NOAA imagery in Google Earth. ]

On Monday we had a look at some imagery via Google Crisis Response of the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthews.

Google has since added quite a lot of new imagery to the KML file that we linked to on Monday. The KML file uses a network link, so if you still have it you should automatically see any new imagery that is added.

In addition, Google has made available on this map a large amount of aerial imagery provided by NOAA. To access it, go to the layers and select ‘Aerial Photos’. Then zoom to the eastern coast of the US and you will see a thin strip of aerial imagery all along the coast.

The NOAA imagery can also be viewed on this NOAA map, which also offers the option to download the imagery. Unfortunately, the imagery is not currently in a format easily viewed in Google Earth and Google does not currently have plans to add it to the above KML file.

before
after

Before and After of Flagler Beach, Florida showing damage to the coastal road.

before
after

Before and After of a new inlet formed along the Florida coast. To find it on the map search for ‘Rattlesnake Island’.


Some flooded roads in Charleston, South Carolina.


As a bonus, we get a look at Space Launch Complex 40 where SpaceX AMOS-6 mission spectacularly blew up in September.

See this article for a number of aerial and ground level photos of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthews.

Cylcone Roanu: Landslide and Floods

Cyclone Roanu was, according to Wikipedia, a relatively weak tropical cyclone that, nevertheless, caused severe flooding in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In addition, it caused a number of large landslides in Sri Lanka. The only imagery of the event so far in Google Earth is two patches of imagery of Sri Lanka: an image of the capital, Colombo, showing flooding and a set of images further inland showing a landslide.

The images were captured soon after the cyclone so they are rather cloudy and the light is poor.


Flooding in Colombo


Flooding in Colombo.


Much of the landslide is covered in cloud.

before
after

 
Before and after of the tail end of the landslide.

To find the locations shown above in Google Earth, download this KML file.

Hurricane season is upon us

Hurricane season is here, and Google has recently put out a helpful blog posts with tips for staying safe. Specifically, they suggest three things:

Make sure your phone will receive Public Alerts

Google Public Alerts, launched two years ago, is a tool that sends people alerts from authoritative sources like the U.S. National Weather Service or the Japan Meteorological Agency during emergencies. They’re accessible through the Google search app on your mobile devices and Google Chrome on your computer, as well as in search results for related queries and on Google Maps when relevant.

public alerts

Install emergency preparedness apps

There are a number of great apps which can help you prepare for or outlast an emergency. For example, a flashlight app can be useful if the power goes out and you don’t have access to a regular flashlight (use a regular flashlight if you can to conserve your phone’s battery). The first-aid and disaster preparedness apps from the Red Cross have a lot of valuable information. And the official FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) app has information on how to stay safe during a disaster, the locations of FEMA disaster recovery stations, and more.

Get helpful gadgets

A waterproof phone case can help protect your phone during floods or heavy rains and a portable solar-powered charger will help keep your phone’s battery alive. It may also be a good idea to invest in a cell phone signal booster which gives you a greater chance of connecting to an operational cell tower.

Beyond those tips, there are ways to watch and track severe weather using Google Earth. Hurricane data can be found in the main “places” layer of Google Earth, and there are many other great tools to help track the weather by using other layers and downloadable files.

Check out the full post on the Google Lat Long Blog and stay safe out there!