Google responded to the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti earlier this week by working with satellite imagery company GeoEye to quickly make images of the destruction available in Google Earth and Google Maps. The images were taken at approximately 10:27 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, and could prove to be a helpful tool for aid organizations attempting to survey and assess the damage to Haiti's infrastructure.

Google Earth Reveals the Devastation in Haiti 18689710

Google says it will automatically update the Haiti layer as more data and images become available, but Google Earth users only need to download the KML file once.

Google Earth Reveals the Devastation in Haiti 18689711

Google has been working to develop a better map of Haiti through its crowd sourced Map Maker application ever since the country was hit by hurricanes Gustav and Ike last fall. Map Maker encourages users to enhance Google Maps by adding street names, points of interests, and editing driving directions for Google's satellite image-based maps. In a blog post on Wednesday, Google said it had made all of its raw Map Maker data about Haiti available to the United Nations to aid in relief efforts.

Google Earth Reveals the Devastation in Haiti 18689712

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