Google, NASA release satellite images of Japan disaster

Both Google and NASA are releasing satellite images depicting the devastation last week's earthquake and tsunami caused in Japan.

Google teamed up with GeoEye, a satellite imagery company, to make images of the affected area available for people to view in Google Earth or Google Maps.
Ryan Falor, a member of the Google Crisis Response team, noted in a blog post over the weekend that the images are being made available to aid organizations in an attempt to assist their rescue efforts.

"We hope this new updated satellite imagery is valuable for them as well as everyone else following this situation to help illustrate the extent of the damage," wrote Falor.
"You can also follow @earthoutreach on Twitter to stay up to date with our mapping and imagery efforts."

At NASA, scientists used a Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer instrument on the Terra spacecraft to show before-and-after imagery of the havoc wrought by the tsunami. The NASA images show that flooding caused by the tsunami extended more than 2.5 miles inland from the eastern shoreline. The white sand beaches visible in image taken before the tsunami now are covered by water.

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Taiwan issues tsunami alert following Japan quake

Taiwan's central weather bureau issued a tsunami advisory for the island's north and east coasts after a major earthquake struck off the north coast of Japan.

It said it expects any waves to arrive after 0930 GMT and advised residents in coastal areas to remain alert to changes in sea conditions. (Taipei bureau and Asia Desk, Singapore +65 6870 3815)



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Space Radar Reveals Topography of Tsunami Site

Two color-coded perspective views of the Independent State of Samoa (left) and American Samoa (right), generated with digital elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, illustrate the varying topography of the islands. A tsunami generated by a major undersea earthquake on Sept. 29, 2009, inundated the more heavily populated southern coast of Tutuila, the largest of the islands of American Samoa, with an ocean surge more than 3 meters (10 feet) deep, causing scores of casualties. The tsunami also inundated villages on the southern coast of the Independent State of Samoa with an ocean surge perhaps more than 3 meters (10 feet) deep, and also impacted the more heavily populated northern coasts with a surge measured at nearly 1.5 meters (4 feet) at the capital city of Apia.

Digital topographic data such as those produced by SRTM can be used to aid researchers and planners in predicting which coastal regions are at the most risk from such waves, as well as from the more common storm surges caused by tropical storms and even sea level rise.