Helping the victims of Tropical Storm Ketsana

Last weekend, Tropical Storm Ketsana (local name "Ondoy") pounded Manila and nearby areas of the Philippines with a month's worth of rain in just a few hours, resulting in floods that covered 80% of the city with as much as 20 feet of water. The typhoon left in its wake nearly 300 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.<br /><br />We're very saddened by the losses the Filipino people have sustained during this calamity. To help you stay up to date on the disaster and contribute to the relief efforts, we've put up a <a href="http://www.google.com/landing/typhoon-ondoy.html">Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines page</a> that contains the latest news from local media outlets, lists of verified donation sites and emergency hotlines, and a volunteer-maintained map of persons needing rescue.<br /><br />Filipinos have been <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ondoy&search_type=&aq=f">posting videos of the flooding and its aftermath</a> on YouTube. You can also visualize the overflows along main rivers and bays in Google Earth with <a href="http://www.google.com/landing/kmz/Kestana_Cyclone_TayTay.kmz">this kmz file</a>. <br /><br />If you're familiar with Google Maps and would like to get involved in the effort to map <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114275963314561391621.000474bb18f93804bc564&ll=14.597372,121.131821&spn=0.038955,0.063944&z=14">missing persons</a>, <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114275963314561391621.000474b14dc5c675ed8b5&z=10">relief centers</a> and <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114275963314561391621.000474b16c00c055bb4d7&z=8">road conditions</a>, you can email the volunteer team at typhoonondoy@googlegroups.com. We will continue to update the page with the latest information and imagery, and keep your eye on the <a href="http://www.google-latlong.blogspot.com/">Lat Long blog</a> for updates about disaster relief efforts.<br /><br /><span class="byline-author">Posted by Therese Lim, Google Southeast Asia Team</span>

Helping the victims of Tropical Storm Ketsana

Last weekend, Tropical Storm Ketsana (local name "Ondoy") pounded Manila and nearby areas of the Philippines with a month's worth of rain in just a few hours, resulting in floods that covered 80% of t…

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Responding to the earthquake in China

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Kai-Fu Lee, President, Google Greater China<br /></span><br />One week ago, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude struck in Sichuan. Everyone in China was shocked and then heartbroken as reported deaths climbed from 10,000 to 20,000 to more than 32,000 people. The death toll is still rising, and the number of injured and missing is many times greater.<br /><br />But the Chinese people have faced this disaster with resilience, compassion, and courage. There have been non-stop airlifts, blood donations, and rescue missions. One bold executive drove hundreds of miles in his jeep, started digging, and saved several lives. Taxi drivers stopped carrying passengers and drove to affected areas to help. One hundred thousand brave soldiers risked (and some gave) their lives to look for every possible survivor. Here in Beijing more than a thousand families have volunteered to adopt children who have lost their parents. Everyone is eager to help -- and that includes Googlers.<br /><br />Within hours of the earthquake, our China-based teams pulled together to use Google's resources and technology to help. At the request of the government, we obtained new satellite images of Sichuan province (<a id="f_t_9" href="http://mw2.google.com/mw-earth-vectordb/china_earthquake/china_earthquake_cn.kml"><span id="f_t_10">Earth KML</span></a>) to help them better focus their recovery efforts. We developed and launched a <a id="f_t_14" href="http://www.google.cn/qinren">“lost loved one” search</a> based on our Custom Search Engine (CSE). To populate the CSE index, hundreds of Googlers worked around the clock looking through published tables, hospital records, news reports, and community sites. We tuned our Chinese <a href="http://news.google.cn/news?q=%E6%B1%B6%E5%B7%9D%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87&hl=zh-CN&ned=ccn&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=in"><span id="f_t_20">news search</span></a><span id="f_t_25">, <a href="http://video.google.cn/videosearch?q=%E6%B1%B6%E5%B7%9D+%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87&so=1">video search</a></span><span id="f_t_30">, <a href="http://images.google.cn/images?q=%E6%B1%B6%E5%B7%9D%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87&hl=zh-CN&ned=ccn&sa=N&tab=bi">image search</a></span><span id="f_t_35">, <a href="http://blogsearch.google.cn/blogsearch?q=%E6%B1%B6%E5%B7%9D%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87&hl=zh-CN&ned=ccn&tab=vb">blog search</a></span>, and <a id="f_t_39" href="http://www.google.cn/search?hl=zh-CN&q=%E5%9C%B0%E9%9C%87&btnG=Google+%E6%90%9C%E7%B4%A2&meta=&aq=f"><span id="f_t_40">oneboxes</span></a>. We also partnered to build <a id="f_t_44" href="http://laiba.tianya.cn/laiba/Community?cmm=281">community sites</a>, and launched both <a id="f_t_49" href="http://www.google.cn/">homepage promotions</a> and a <a id="f_t_54" href="http://ditu.google.cn/earthquake">map-based information page</a>. Google China has an extremely dedicated and passionate team and I am deeply honored to work alongside them.<br /><br />In addition to these efforts here in China, Googlers worldwide have also made substantial financial donations to the relief operations. As a company, we’ve committed $2 million for disaster relief and rebuilding, in addition to donating a large advertising budget for donation ads and public service announcements to aid organizations throughout the world.<br /><br />We have also created a <a href="http://www.google.com/chinaearthquake">Google</a><a id="f_t_65" href="http://www.google.com/chinaearthquake"> Checkout donations page</a> so you can easily donate to <a id="f_t_70" href="http://www.mercycorps.org/chinaearthquake/">Mercy Corps</a>, which works with the <a id="f_t_75" href="http://www.fupin.org.cn/en/index.asp">China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation</a>, or the <a id="f_t_80" href="http://tsinghuafoundation.org/earthquake08/">Tsinghua Foundation</a>, which works with the <a id="f_t_85" href="http://202.108.59.10/english/index.htm">Red Cross Society of China</a>. Both organizations have assured us that all of the proceeds will go directly to earthquake relief.<br /><br />Our efforts are but one piece of a giant effort now underway, bringing together the governments, private companies, NGOs and countless heroic individuals -– all striving to address this disaster as quickly and comprehensively as we can.<br /><br />Please pray for the victims of the earthquake. May the injured rest and recover. May the survivors be resilient. May all of us learn from the Chinese people to turn our anxiety into courage, misery into compassion, and sorrow into love.

Responding to the earthquake in China

Posted by Kai-Fu Lee, President, Google Greater ChinaOne week ago, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude struck in Sichuan. Everyone in China was shocked and then heartbroken as reported deaths climbed from …

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Helping victims of Cyclone Nargis

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Josh Mendelsohn, Program Manager</span><br /><br />Over the past few days, we've followed the devastation left in the wake of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma). News reports have tallied more than 22,000 dead with another 41,000 missing. We're extremely saddened by the loss of life due to this cyclone, and hope you'd like to help assist with the relief effort.<br /><br />As we did after <a title="last fall's wildfires" href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/wildfire-relief-donations.html" id="j9np">last fall's wildfires</a> in Southern California, we've created a <a title="Checkout Donations page" href="http://www.google.com/myanmarcyclone/" id="gyvr">Checkout Donations page</a> so you can easily donate to <a href="http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/myanmar_43788.html" id="c4jh" title="UNICEF">UNICEF</a> or <a href="http://www.directrelief.org/EmergencyResponse/2008/CycloneNargisMyanmar/CycloneNargisMyanmar.aspx" id="eiu0" title="Direct Relief">Direct Relief International</a>. Both organizations are working to directly assist the victims on the ground in Myanmar.<br /><br />To help visualize the damage, there are Google Earth layers showing an <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/05/tracking-path-of-cyclone-nargis.html" id="x2oi" title="animation of the cyclone's path">animation of the cyclone's path</a> (using satellite imagery from the Naval Research Laboratory) and <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/05/unosat-layer-of-myanmar-cyclone-data.html" id="nzjs" title="the extent of the flooding">the extent of the flooding</a> using data from the UN Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). We'll keep posting information to the <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/" id="m3i_" title="Lat-Long blog">Lat-Long Blog</a> as more data comes available.<br /><br />There are also several Google Grants non-profits working to provide relief to those affected. <a href="https://secure.ga4.org/01/cyclone_nargis" id="cedv" title="Save the Children">Save the Children</a> currently has a 500-person staff in the area, while <a href="https://donate.oxfamamerica.org/02/myanmar" id="eu.h" title="Oxfam America">Oxfam America</a> has committed $800,000 to help NGOs meet the immediate needs of people. <a href="http://www.worldvision.org/news.nsf/news/myanmar-cyclone-20080505?open&lid=20225&lpos=fea_txt_ReadMore" id="mi.s" title="World Vision">World Vision</a> and <a href="http://doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=2656" id="b4h7" title="Doctors Without Borders">Doctors Without Borders</a> are also taking action with two of the most vulnerable populations in the crisis: children and the injured. We are pleased to be working with and supporting these organizations that are contributing directly to cyclone relief. We encourage you to visit them and consider lending them your support, too. For more details on these organizations and other non-profits providing support for the victims of the disaster, visit the <a title="Google Grants blog" href="http://googlegrants.blogspot.com/2008/05/grant-recipients-helping-victims-of.html" id="b:qu">Google Grants blog</a>.<br /><br />In addition to the Google Grants non-profits, we want to highlight a few additional organizations we've gotten to know through Google.org's <a title="Predict and Prevent" href="http://google.org/predict.html" id="chd-">Predict and Prevent</a> initiative, which supports a regional disease surveillance network with six Mekong Basin countries, including Myanmar. These on-the-ground organizations are working around the clock to deliver resources to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. <a href="https://www.care.org/myanmarg" id="cp2r" title="CARE">CARE</a> has more than 14 years’ experience in Myanmar and will assist hundreds of thousands of people in the coming days with their immediate needs (including water, food and shelter), as well as providing long term recovery solutions over the next few years. <a href="https://secure2.convio.net/imc/site/Donation2?df_id=1852&1852.donation=form1" id="ovzg" title="International Medical Corps">International Medical Corps</a> is deploying an emergency response team that will help address urgent health needs in addition to distributing medical supplies in the hardest hit areas, and <a href="https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10514" id="s.3p" title="NetHope">NetHope</a> is working to provide technology and satellite communication solutions for many responding organizations. <br /> <br /> The Google Earth and Maps team continues to make <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/05/imagery-for-myanmar-burma.html" id="c2f9" title="new imagery">new imagery</a> and relevant data available. The <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/05/using-google-earth-to-inform-cyclone.html" id="a.n9" title="latest Lat Long Blog post">latest Lat Long Blog post</a> shows how Direct Relief International is using Google Earth to plan its work, including a KML layer of health facilities in Myanmar. We continue to follow the political situation with concern and hope aid can flow rapidly to the people of Myanmar who need it so desperately.<span id="gau40" style="font-size:85%;"><span id="gau41"><br /> </span></span><span id="gau40" style="font-size:85%;"><span id="gau41" style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Update:</span> Added two new paragraphs at the end.

Helping victims of Cyclone Nargis

Posted by Josh Mendelsohn, Program ManagerOver the past few days, we've followed the devastation left in the wake of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma). News reports have tallied more than 22,000 dead …

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Wildfire relief donations

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Prem Ramaswami, Google Checkout Team</span><br /><br />Nearly one million people have been displaced by the devastating <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/southern-california-fire-maps.html" id="mrwl" title="wildfires in Southern California">wildfires in Southern California</a>. The Red Cross and Salvation Army are actively helping the victims of this disaster. If you'd like to contribute to their efforts, you can make a donation via our "<a href="http://www.google.com/checkout/wildfires.html">Support Wildfire Relief</a>" page.

Wildfire relief donations

Posted by Prem Ramaswami, Google Checkout TeamNearly one million people have been displaced by the devastating wildfires in Southern California. The Red Cross and Salvation Army are actively helping t…

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Google Earth and Katrina help

<span class="byline-author">Posted by John Hanke, Director, Google Earth and Maps</span><br /><br />When <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina">Hurricane Katrina</a> hit the Gulf Coast almost a year ago, people across the country and around the world wondered how to help. Many donated money; others lent their homes to dislocated survivors. A group of Googlers lent their expertise by leveraging the power of Google technology.<br /><br />Over several long nights, the teams from Google Earth and Google Maps created satellite imagery overlays of the devastation in the affected region, which showed more accurately the scope of the disaster. Soon after, we were told that rescue workers and the U.S. Air Force were using Google Earth to find people who were stranded.<br /><br />And last week, we received formal recognition from the <a href="http://www.nga.mil/">National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency</a>. Members of the NGA presented the "Hurricane Katrina Recognition Award" to the Google Earth team, as well as the Google Enterprise and Global Support groups, for their direct support during the Katrina disaster. Individual recipients included Brian McClendon, Andria McCool, Wayne Thai, Charlie Chapin, Michael Ashbridge, Chikai Ohazama, Lenette Howard, and Rob Painter, along with two folks from Carnegie Mellon University who assisted us: Randy Sargent and Anne Wright. We're pleased to be recognized in this way -- but even more pleased that we could help.

Google Earth and Katrina help

Posted by John Hanke, Director, Google Earth and MapsWhen Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast almost a year ago, people across the country and around the world wondered how to help. Many donated mone…

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Seeing what Katrina has wrought

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Bill Kilday, Google Earth team</span><br /><br />A natural disaster brings out the need for up-to-the-minute maps and images, and <a href="http://bbs.keyhole.com/entrance.php">Google Earth community</a> members have created more than 100 overlays in the last 24 hours that tell the story of Hurricane Katrina's effect. These overlays drape on top of existing satellite images, and NOAA has been <a href="http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/katrina/">posting these flyovers</a> so people can actually see the incredible devastation.<br /><br />If you don't already have Google Earth, <a href="http://kh.google.com/download/earth/index.html">download it</a> to see some of the overlays that illustrate the change from previous images to the way things are now. Click on <a href="http://earth.google.com/katrina.html">any of the overlays</a>, which will open the application.<br /><br />Here's an aerial "before" image of the Superdome area.<br /><br /><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/superdome_before-798168.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/superdome_before-793522.JPG" /></a><br /><br />When you're in Google Earth, use the slider function at the bottom of your Places on the lefthand side (shown in this screen grab) to move the image from the left (before) to the right (after). More viewing and navigating help is <a href="http://www.keyhole.com/GoogleEarthHelp/GoogleEarth.htm">here.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/GE_slider_arrow-799815.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/GE_slider_arrow-798746.JPG" /></a><br /><br />When you use the slider, much of what was light before is now dark -- with water.<br /><br /><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/media/superdome_after.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/media/superdome_after-th.jpg" /></a><br /><br />We hope you'll find all the images useful. Please note you'll need a good video graphics card to handle the graphics.<br /><br />UPDATED: Clarification on seeing the Google Earth images.

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Seeing what Katrina has wrought

Posted by Bill Kilday, Google Earth teamA natural disaster brings out the need for up-to-the-minute maps and images, and Google Earth community members have created more than 100 overlays in the last …

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