Google has stored interactive images of the Tohoku area devastated by the March 11 tsunami, allowing viewers to take a virtual walk through the zone before and after the disasters. Mostly shot in July, the 360-degree images linked to a map of the area provide a portrait of devastation, with piles of debris, gutted and flattened buildings, and overturned boats amid a vast wasteland.

The images can be viewed at the special website Memories for the Future.

 The picture below is Onagawa town in Miyagi Prefecture before the disaster. (search word is “Onagawa, Oshika District, Miyagi Prefecture”)

 The picture below is the same place after the disaster.

Google said it hopes the digital archiving project will be useful to researchers and scientists in putting the plight of the communities into perspective and ensuring that the memories of the disaster remain relevant for future generations.