Equipped with up-to-date imagery from Google Earth, relief teams saved thousands of people from Katrina’s aftermath. Now, they could input a caller’s location into Google Earth paired with case-specific details-for example, a target trapped in a two-story house with a clay roof next to an oak tree. Google Earth made this data publicly available and responders had eyes again. Fly-by aerial photos from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) and satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe-one of Google Earth’s primary providers-revealed the scope of the hurricane’s destruction. In California, a team from the recently minted Google Earth program launched into action, creating real-time imagery overlays of heavily affected areas on top of its existing 3D globe platform. In the absence of traditional situational awareness, responders were operating blind. Hurricane victims dialed 911 for urgent help at specific street addresses, but it was impossible for first responders to find them without precise GPS coordinates-street signs and house numbers were invisible beneath the deluge. Navy, Coast Guard, and other federal relief groups deployed helicopter teams to rescue people stranded in New Orleans without the resources to escape or survive in their homes. According to the National Hurricane Center, it was the deadliest hurricane since 1928, claiming at least 1,800 lives and causing more than $108 billion in damages. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast of the United States, bursting levees throughout Louisiana and Mississippi and submerging the streets of south Florida.
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