Aerial photos of Katrina's aftermath available

Thursday, September 8, 2005

Closeup of 17th Street Canal breach in New Orleans.
Spanish Fort area of New Orleans, on the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain (pic is rotated so lake appears on the right).
The photos illustrate how severe flooding was in some areas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is hosting over 3,000 high-resolution images on their website of the devastation along the Gulf Coast. The images were taken by the NOAA Remote Sensing Division using a Emerge/Applanix Digital Sensor System or DSS from 7,500 feet.

They were mounted on a NOAA Cessna Citation aircraft, a twin engine plane. The plane was the same plane that flew over 'Ground Zero' of the World Trade Center site and the Pentagon, after September 11th, taking 3-D photographs of them.

The images from the plane was taken to support the national security and emergency management response requirements. The image will also help current research efforts to help develop standards for aerial digital imagery.

Google Maps also contains some imagery (though limited) at this time when the word New Orleans or anything within New Orleans is typed in. It can be accessed by clicking the red button labeled Katrina.

Sources