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Surveying Katrina's Damage from Above

Many news stations covering Hurricane Katrina are using before-and-after satellite images of the Gulf Coast to show the effects of the storm -- especially flooded areas of New Orleans, which showed up as dark green areas after key levees failed and the water poured in.

Now the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -- the federal government's top weather prediction and climate forecasting agency -- has put high-resolution satellite and aerial photos of the region on its Web site.

Other Web sites are offering similar services that allow close-up views of the damage, some with technologies that allow users to search areas by following street maps.

The Web sites allow evacuated residents to see the damage to their communities all across the Gulf Coast -- and sometimes, even their own homes.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Laura Sydell fell in love with the intimate storytelling qualities of radio, which combined her passion for theatre and writing with her addiction to news. Over her career she has covered politics, arts, media, religion, and entrepreneurship. Currently Sydell is the Digital Culture Correspondent for NPR's All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and NPR.org.