While most of us are well aware of the recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti and the volcanic eruption in Iceland few of us are aware of a recent 6.9 magnitude quake in China.
In a recent spade of natural disasters, the quake last week in the Qinghai province responsible for 2,000 deaths so far has gone relatively unreported; perhaps hindered by a government-controlled media and a lack of access to the region. It took a few days of difficult travel for the media to access the area and assess the damage.
Luckily our friends at Google posted some satellite images to make surveying the devastation a whole lot easier by comparing before and after photos: Take a look »
The Chinese government notorious for censorship and downplaying conflict and disasters in the past has taken a decidedly different approach this time around by quickly sending aid to the region and allowing transparent reporting. Read on »
Google has set up a crisis response page, apparently not blocked by the Chinese government, to aid in relief efforts.


