Bing Maps Japan Earthquake App Shows the Devastation

Images and video of the recent natural disaster in Japan are abundant on the web, but to truly get a perspective over the devastation that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused, users can head over to Bing Maps.

“Bing created a new, high-quality map tool to help relief agencies and others navigate through the damaged areas,” revealed Claire Bonilla, Senior Director, Disaster Management, Microsoft.

The Bing Maps Japan Earthquake App allows users to compare aerial imagery of the Japanese area hit most severely by the tsunami before and after the disaster.

Where once were streets and homes, entire towns, now there’s only pulverized rubble. The amount of damage that the earthquake and tsunami inflicted is truly staggering.

Over 8.500 people have already been declared dead, with in excess of 13,000 still missing. According even to the most optimistic predictions, at least half of those still missing are unlikely to be alive.

And there are forecasts indicating that the death toll is likely to climb to even higher than 18.000.

Microsoft already activated its disaster response protocol in Japan just days after the natural disaster, and operations have moved forward since at a rapid pace.

The Redmond company is offering a range of resources, services, etc. free of charge to those impacted by the devastation in Japan as a part of helping out in the relief efforts.

“We see many customers in Japan taking up our free support services and temporary free software licenses to get their organizations operational. In addition, customers are making use of the free online services we’re offering such as Exchange Online, and SharePoint Online,” Bonilla added.

The software giant is also allowing Digital Office Japan to use Windows Azure free of charge to power called J!ResQ (J Rescue), an application designed to let people send voice messages over email to their families.

“We’re also offering governmental and nonprofit agencies in Japan access to a free online Disaster Response portal that can quickly and easily be customized to help them communicate with citizens and other agencies,” Bonilla said.