The death toll rose to over 2,000 from last week’s Yushu earthquake in Western China according to the latest report from the AP. Thousands more are homeless and seriously injured. As they did with Haiti, the Google map team has provided before-and-after images that you can view on Google Earth by clicking here. Visit Google’s Lat/Long blog here.

The Googlers have also created a China Person Finding tool which can be used to submit or search for information about individuals who may have been affected. It is available in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and English, and is accessible on mobile. We encourage organizations and media sites to embed the gadget on their sites and help spread the word. Bravo, Google.

For some incredible images of monks helping, and often leading the rescue effort, check out this nytimes photo essay.