Weather Disasters: Before and After (PHOTOS) | Weather.com
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Photos

Damage from hurricanes, tornadoes and other weather disasters viewed from Google Earth.

ByChris DolceSeptember 5, 2013

Gilchrist, Texas Before and After Hurricane Ike

Move your mouse over the image to see the before and after comparisons.

Aerial imagery can provide vivid views of the devastating damage caused by weather-related disasters around the world.

On the following pages, you can see the before and after comparisons of the damage left behind by hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides and other disasters using imagery from Google Earth.

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Sept. 13 is the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Ike's landfall along the upper Texas coast. As the images above illustrate, storm surge damage was catastrophic along the Bolivar Peninsula where Gilchrist, Texas is located. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> See Gilchrist, Texas in 2013

 


 

Gilchrist, Texas After Hurricane Ike Compared to 2013

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Above is the damage in Gilchrist, Texas from Hurricane Ike in 2008 compared to the way it looks in 2013. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT: Mudslides in Brazil

 


 

2011 Mudslides in Brazil

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Before and after comparison of the hilly terrain in Brazil after mudslides in 2011. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> Mudslides in Brazil

 


 

2011 Mudslides in Brazil

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Before and after comparison of mudslides that struck Nova Friburgo, Brazil in 2011. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> EF5 Tornado Destruction

 


 

Moore, Okla. Before and After EF5 Tornado

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The comparison above shows the destruction of a Moore, Okla. neighborhood after an EF5 tornado in May 2013. Credit: Google Crisis Map

NEXT> Damage From Another EF5 Tornado

 


 

Joplin, Mo. Before and After EF5 Tornado

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This aerial view shows the destruction after an EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Mo. in May 2011. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> Superoutbreak Destruction in 2011

 


 

Tuscaloosa, Ala. Before and After EF4 Tornado

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Tuscaloosa, Ala. before and after a deadly EF4 tornado in April 2011. The tornado was one of many that struck Alabama and many other eastern states during the 2011 Superoutbreak. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> Landslide in Italy

 


 

Italy Landslide

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Before and after view of a landslide that hit near Maierato, Italy in March 2010 after heavy rains struck the region. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> Sandy's Devastation

 


 

Ortley Beach, N.J. Before and After Hurricane Sandy

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The devastating damage caused by Hurricane Sandy's storm surge and battering waves is illustrated in this before and after imagery from Ortley Beach, N.J. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> Catastrophic Damage in Mississippi

 


 

Pass Christian, Miss. Before and After Hurricane Katrina

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Before and after comparison shows the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Katrina's storm surge and waves in Pass Christian, Miss. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> See Pass Christian in 2013

 


 

Pass Christian, Miss. After Katrina Compared to 2013

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This before/after image shows Pass Christian, Miss. after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 compared to the way it looks in 2013. Credit: Google Earth

NEXT> Wildfire Burns Structures

 


 

2013 Black Forest Fire

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In this comparison, you can see a portion of the area and some structures that were burned by the Black Forest Fire in Colorado during June 2013. According to Inciweb.org, 502 structures were destroyed by the fire.

NEXT> Major River Flooding

 


 

2011 Mississippi River Flooding

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The before image is the swollen Mississippi River near the Arkansas and Tennessee border after massive flooding in spring 2011. You can see what the Mississippi River looks like when levels are closer to normal in the after image from 2012.

(MORE: Before and After Hurricane Sandy Images)

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Dramatic Images of our Changing Earth

For more on this story, click here.

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The Ash Creek Fire seen here is one of some 27,000 fires which have destroyed nearly 2 million acres of the western U.S. since the start of 2012. Extremely dry conditions, stiff winds, unusually warm weather, and trees killed by outbreaks of pine bark beetles have provided ideal conditions for the blazes. (Credit: NASA)