# Sites like Google Maps, only current? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899 "2017-09-21T16:37:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/1 "2017-09-21T16:37:10Z")
The maps on Google are great, but they don’t seem to be updated very often. (And why would they? Things usually don’t change _that_ much!) But after a disaster like the recent hurricanes, it would be nice to see current images. Like, what does the Condado area of San Juan, Puerto Rico look like now? Are there sites that have maps like Google’s, only with images a few days old instead of a few years old? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/2 "2017-09-21T17:23:26Z")
[NOAA has a page](https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/) with relatively current aerial photography of areas affected by storms. They made flights over Houston every 12 hours. The coverage is pretty limited, but it’s probably the closest to what you are looking for. [TerraServer](https://www.terraserver.com/) has a good collection of maps. It’s more up to date than Google, but nothing approaching days old. It looks like the most recent Puerto Rico images are from May. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/3 "2017-09-21T17:36:12Z")
For more recent photos in urban areas, Nearmap is good: > **[US Home Page](https://www.nearmap.com/us/en)** > > Explore high-resolution aerial view maps with better quality than satellite maps and 3D data, and automated insights for governments and businesses. They have a special collection of recent post-hurricane images, but also they just regularly fly over cities a lot more often than Google does. Free trial gets you a few images, or you can pay for their service after the trial. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/4 "2017-09-21T18:19:17Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > [NOAA has a page](https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/) with relatively current aerial photography of areas affected by storms. They made flights over Houston every 12 hours. The coverage is pretty limited, but it’s probably the closest to what you are looking for. > > [TerraServer](https://www.terraserver.com/) has a good collection of maps. It’s more up to date than Google, but nothing approaching days old. It looks like the most recent Puerto Rico images are from May. NOAH doesn’t have anything for Maria. Images from Irma are the latest. Even if TerraServer had new images, you can’t zoom in enough on them. > [@Reply](#): > > For more recent photos in urban areas, Nearmap is good: > > [https://go.nearmap.com/](https://go.nearmap.com/)… > > Free trial gets you a few images, or you can pay for their service after the trial. I have this ‘thing’ about signing up for free trials. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/5 "2017-09-22T15:11:03Z")
Wait a few years and Google’ll probably buy 'em up. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/6 "2017-09-22T15:29:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I have this ‘thing’ about signing up for free trials. [Spamgourmet could help with that](https://www.spamgourmet.com/index.pl): > [@](#): > > Protect yourself from spam in three easy steps: > > 1. If you haven’t done it yet, create a spamgourmet account. Enter your user name and the email address you want to be protected. You will be asked to identify the word in a picture and pick a password. > > 2. Spamgourmet will forward to this address all the emails sent to your spamgourmet addresses – that way you don’t have to tell anyone else what it is – this is why it’s called the protected address. Of course, this protected address must exist. That’s why you have to confirm it. You’ll receive an email asking you to confirm. > > 3. After you have confirmed your protected address, you can give out self-destructing email addresses whenever you want. The spamgourmet addresses are like: > > [someword.x.user@spamgourmet.com](mailto:someword.x.user@spamgourmet.com) > > where someword is a word you have never used before, x (optional) is the number of email messages you want to receive at this address (up to 20, and the number 3 will be used if you leave it out), and user is your username. > > For example, if your user name is “spamcowboy”, and BigCorp wants you to give them your email address (on the web, on the phone, at a store - it doesn’t matter), instead of giving them your protected address, give them this one: > > [frombigcorp.3.spamcowboy@spamgourmet.com](mailto:frombigcorp.3.spamcowboy@spamgourmet.com) > (and [frombigcorp.spamcowboy@spamgourmet.com](mailto:frombigcorp.spamcowboy@spamgourmet.com) will work the same way) > > This spamgourmet email address will be created here the first time BigCorp uses it (you don’t have to do anything to create it), and you’ll receive at most 3 messages, forwarded to your protected address. The rest will be indelicately consumed. It’s been around for a long time and I’ve used it to great effect multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/7 "2017-09-22T17:35:09Z")
A few years ago investigated (near) real time satellite photos. I discovered two things - it wasn’t free and cloud free photos were not all that commonly available. Especially after big storms. Here is a WaPo article with some recent aerial shots. > **[‘Thousands of people could die’: 70,000 in Puerto Rico urged to evacuate with...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/09/22/at-least-6-dead-in-puerto-rico-due-to-hurricane-maria-officials-say/?utm_term=.6a38f2659a1f)** > > Entire neighborhoods are blanketed in murky water, the waves in some cases reaching near the first-floor windows. Tops of buildings were sliced open, their top-floor rooms visible like dollhouses. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/8 "2017-09-25T20:38:13Z")
NOAA has posted some [aerial imagery](https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/maria/index.html#10/18.1961/-65.7532) from PR post-Maria. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sites-like-google-maps-only-current/796899/9 "2017-09-25T21:35:03Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > NOAA has posted some [aerial imagery](https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/maria/index.html#10/18.1961/-65.7532) from PR post-Maria. Looks like our accommodations there suffered little or no damage. Pool’s a little dirty, though. Thanks.