In Gujarat last week, flooding left some areas sitting under 20 feet of water. The city of Surat was extremely hard hit, and numerous residents were stranded. But thanks to two local men and Google Earth, the Indian Air Force was able to target air-drops of relief supplies and give coordinates to rescue helicopters. The two men also convinced municipal authorities and airport officials to use Google Earth in their aid efforts.

According to a clipping from an Ahmedabad newspaper:

If [officials] could have struck upon this idea before, it would have helped many more people as carpet air-dropping of aid leads to lots of wastage. Using this tool, it was easy to identify buildings and other landmarks as [the locals] know the city like the back of their hands.

Thanks, Alan and Aro!