Two days after the destructive Christchurch earthquake in February, 2011 the Royal New Zealand Air Force flew 1,600 metres above the city photographing the aftermath. The aerial imagery was then used by emergency services to assess damage to the area. A month on, New Zealand’s national mapping agency, LINZ has released this data for the public.
As the photos were taken from a low flying plane, the devastation caused by the quake is shown in much more detail than the previously released GeoEye satellite captures. For example this is the six storey Canterbury Television (CTV) building which collapsed in the quake killing 95 people, leaving only its lift shaft standing.
Towards the coast you can see partially submerged roads. Possibly from liquefaction or burst pipes.
LINZ suggest several ways to access the full set of images online. In a Javascript viewer or Microsoft Silverlight viewer. Or at Koordinates.com in a Google Maps mash-up.
Via googlemapsmania
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