Google Earth community members have created more than 100 overlays in the last 24 hours that tell the story of Hurricane Katrina's effect. The overlays drape on top of existing satellite images, and NOAA has been posting these flyovers so people can actually see the incredible devastation.

Additionally, Jonathan Mendez and Greg Stoll created a "Katrina Information Map" at scipionus.com intended for the use of people affected by Hurricane Katrina who have or are trying to find information about the status of specific locations affected by the storm and its aftermath. Google Maps added satellite imagery from Wednesday, August 31 at 10 AM.

Mendez and Stoll help users with a set of instructions as follows:

"If you have information about the status of an area that is not yet on the map, please contribute by following the instructions below so that others may get that much needed information.

Instructions

ZOOM IN! (The default zoom is far out to let people most easily get to the area they are interested in; the map will be very hard to use unless you first zoom in using the slider on the map).

To create a new marker with information, first navigate the map to find the location you wish to mark (you can move the map by dragging it, you can zoom in and out, etc.). Put the information about that area into the "Text to add:" textbox, then click on "Add marker", and click on the map where you want the marker to go.

To add information to an existing marker, first navigate the map to find the marker you wish to add information to (you can move the map by dragging it, you can zoom in and out, etc.). Put the information you wish to add into the "Text to add:" textbox, then click on "Append text to existing marker", and click on the marker you wish to add information to."

Mendez writes: "I want to thank Greg Stoll for putting this together really quickly for me. You can check out his site at www.gregstoll.com. Thanks to WebGeist for the free hosting during this time of need."

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