Swathes of England devastated by floods, 24 hour news providing unrelenting images of flooded high streets and most of us left with only the vaguest of ideas of where this is all going on. Not now.
Google Maps allow any individual to plot points on a map to tell a story. BBC Berkshire do this is tremendous style, illustrating the extent of this summer's flooding by plotting and bringing in their own TV and radio reports, user generated photographs and video, Environment Agency flood warnings and the magic of Google Maps' satellite imagery.
I clicked the 'KML' button to open up Google Earth and have that same information sitting on my version of the planet.
Importantly the main BBC Berkshire website gives a prominent link to their "interactive floods map", thus pushing this kind of thinking and technology further into the mainstream.
Wow, really frightening and amazing stuff. The photos I am picking up remind me of the days following Hurricane Katrina stateside, while we just watched in abject horror as nature had it's way with our gulf states.
It is daunting to be reminded that we are just guests on this planet and we don't make policy not when it comes to weather, volcanoes, earthquakes ect..
My thoughts are with you as more rain is predicted.
Posted by: Meredith Broderikick | July 29, 2007 at 04:14 PM