Disaster · Before and after
Front Street, Lahaina, Maui
Two dated satellite photos of the same spot, 20 Feb 2020 and 1 Jan 2026. Open them in GeoWhisperer to swipe between them, check the pair and read what changed.
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What changed
Major change. Most buildings visible in the 2020 image are no longer present in 2026, leaving cleared lots and building footprints. A set of new small, uniform modular structures has been placed on cleared ground in cell A2.
- Square A1high confidenceBuildings along the shoreline and main road are no longer visible, leaving cleared ground.Before: Dense arrangement of structures with light and dark roofs alongside green trees. After: Bare ground and grey foundation pads where buildings once stood.
- Square A2high confidenceFormer buildings are gone and replaced by rows of small modular structures.Before: Commercial and residential buildings with red and dark roofs amidst parking lots and trees. After: Rows of small rectangular white modular units set up on cleared lots.
- Square A3high confidenceLarge residential building complex with red roofs is missing.Before: Multi-wing residential complex with bright red roofs. After: Empty ground with visible outlines of building footprints.
- Square B1high confidenceShoreline structures on the right side of the cell are no longer visible.Before: Buildings and trees along the harbor shoreline. After: Cleared coastal land without structures.
- Square B2high confidenceBuildings across the central area are gone and tree foliage is significantly reduced.Before: Dense blocks of commercial buildings, large green tree canopies, and red-roofed structures. After: Cleared lots showing concrete pads, dark soil, and sparse trees.
- Square B3high confidenceResidential neighborhood structures are no longer present.Before: Numerous houses with grey, white, and brown roofs mixed with green foliage. After: Cleared parcels of land showing ground outlines where houses stood.
- Square C2high confidenceWaterfront commercial buildings are gone.Before: Long green-roofed waterfront structures and surrounding residential buildings. After: Cleared grey and brown ground along the coastline.
- Square C3high confidenceBuildings surrounding the central open parcel are no longer visible.Before: Structures surrounding an open dirt lot. After: Cleared lots around the central open ground.
The square is split into nine numbered squares, A1 to C3. The changes above sit in A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C2, C3.
Differences that are not changes
Things that look different in the two photos but do not mean anything changed on the ground:
- Square C1: Slight variation in ocean surface reflection and water hue. Not counted: colour balance.
The photos
| Place | Front Street, Lahaina, Maui |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 20.87200, -156.67700 |
| Before photo taken | 20 Feb 2020 · 0.5 m per pixel |
| After photo taken | 1 Jan 2026 · 0.31 m per pixel |
| Source | Esri World Imagery Wayback (Esri, Maxar and partners) |
| Category | Disaster |
The movie
GeoWhisperer turns this comparison into a short film with numbered markers: watch or download the MP4.
Check it yourself
- This spot on OpenStreetMap
- Sentinel Hub EO Browser, free satellite archive
- Every dated photo of this spot in the Esri archive
The reading above was produced by GeoWhisperer from these two photos and nothing else. It describes what is visible, never why it happened or who did it, and it can miss things or misread shadows, season and viewing angle. Check every line by eye with the slider in the tool. Another OSINT tool by Henk van Ess, www.digitaldigging.org.