Google Images Document Devastation of 2011 Tsunami in Japan

As part of an ongoing project to digitally archive the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami in northeastern Japan, Google has published several new panoramic images that provide a sobering glimpse of the widespread devastation in communities across the region. The images, taken with the company’s Street View technology in four cities in the TÅhoku region, allows users to take a virtual tour of seriously damaged buildings before they are demolished. One panoramic view of a public housing project illustrates the height of the tsunami wave, which ruined everything up to the fourth floor of the building. Another image, of the condemned Ukedo Elementary School, shows the collapsed auditorium floor beneath the banner of a graduation ceremony that was never held. The images were added to Google’s “Memories for the Future” website, which is chronicling the affected areas from before and after the tsunami.