TOKYO (Kyodo) — Google Inc. on Wednesday released via its Street View service pictures that were taken recently in parts of four Pacific coastal prefectures hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, with some ready for comparison with photos taken before and just after the disaster.
The move is intended to keep memories of the disaster in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki from fading away, according to the Japanese unit of the Internet company.
Google used a camera-mounted vehicle to capture images between April and August with a focus on coastal areas heavily damaged by the tsunami. Some of the pictures include those taken in evacuation zones.
The latest pictures covered six municipalities in Iwate, 11 in Miyagi, 12 in Fukushima and six in Ibaraki. The company plans to take more pictures in the Fukushima towns of Tamura, Kawamata and Tomioka for future release.
The photos can be seen on Google Map and Memories for the Future, an online project by Google.
Google in March released panoramic views of Namie, a Fukushima town located within a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant crippled by the disaster, showing collapsed houses and scattered debris in off-limits areas.
Kyodo News, September 5, 2013