Google Releases Alabama Tornado Destruction Images & Maps Of Tornadoes

Google has posted before-and-after images of the terrible devastation left behind by the tornadoes that hit the South and parts of the East Coast of the United States earlier this week, with close-up views particularly of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The easiest way to see the images is through a Picasa album that the company has posted. […]

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Google has posted before-and-after images of the terrible devastation left behind by the tornadoes that hit the South and parts of the East Coast of the United States earlier this week, with close-up views particularly of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The easiest way to see the images is through a Picasa album that the company has posted. It explains more about these here.

Below is a montage photo of before and after for both Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Jefferson County, Alabama:

Tuscaloosa Apartments And Jefferson County Before After

This stunning photo clearly shows the path of the tornado that went through Tuscaloosa, leaving a diagonal brown scar:

Tuscaloosa Wide After

This image shows the destruction of the Charleston Square Apartments in Tuscaloosa:

Tuscaloosa Charleston Square Apts After

The photo below shows another path through Jefferson County, Alabama (Birmingham, Alabama is partly in this county):

Jefferson Co Wide Place Names After

When you search for some areas impacted by tornadoes in Google Maps, the company also triggers a special alert that leads to maps of where tornadoes touched down and Red Cross shelters. Here you can see it happening for a search on Concord, Alabama:

Google Maps

That leads to a map of tornado reports:

Google Tornado Maps

You can then use options on the left-side of the map to make American Red Cross shelter locations appear:

Red Cross Locations 2

You can also use the two satellite imagery options to zoom in to where Google has updated Google Maps to show the destruction. When you check these boxes, you’ll see the areas that have refreshed images:

Updated Tornado Images On Google Maps

The updates only show in this special map page. If you try to find areas hit by the tornadoes using regular Google maps, you’ll still find older images. You can also reach the map page directly here, rather than having to search for it.

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration also has a useful site about the April 2011 tornadoes in general. You’ll find the NOAA site here. Along with many facts, the site also contains an image showing tornado tracks color-coded to show where the strongest ones were. Yellow is strong; orange stronger and red shows the most severe:

Rotation Tracks


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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