Current technologies are enabling us to participate nearly first hand in disasters as they occur. As the incredible footage of a small creek rising very quickly and carrying off away parked cars during the flash flooding in Toowoomba on Monday 10 January 2011 demonstrates.
I remember seeing a tweet about this clip and watched it when the count was only around 350 on the the 11th of January. now there have been over four and half million views 10 days later. There is a demand to see these things from a real-life perspective, and with digital still & video cameras and access to fast internet and the of networking power of social media we can just about be there.
Here’s a link to a PhotoMap (satellite image) by NearMaps that shows the flooded suburbs of Brisbane as at 13th January. Where you can see the date (at the top of the picture is a time line so you can scroll back (or use the drop down menu) through time and see the changes in water levels. You can zoom in and out of the image and scroll just like on Google Earth. Try clicking on the ‘Multiview’ and check out the ‘More…’ buttons too.
The ABC News Online team developed these remarkable before and after infographics of the Brisbane floods. Brisbane floods: before and after & Brisbane Floods: Up Close.
I find it amazing that we have such ready access to this resource of rich information. The mind boggles as to what educational purposes this might be put. I can imagine students making the most of material like this to illustrate and explain the phenomenon of disasters, and all the while having a (nearly first hand) context that might provide a deeper level of understanding.
