【Poland】

Snapchat is Polandturning out to be a major resource for people trying to keep tabs on what's happening on the ground in Houston.

Snapchat users are turning to Snap Maps to keep tabs on flooding and other damage across Houston neighborhoods in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

SEE ALSO: Houston's good Samaritans are watching out for each other as Harvey rages on

Introduced earlier this year, Snapchat's Snap Maps overlays publicly-posted Snaps onto a map so others can view what's happening in other cities.

As the damage from Harvey, which is now categorized as a tropical storm, continues to unfold, the feature is becoming an important way for people to keep tabs on what's happening in different parts of the city.

"Its [sic] been really helpful seeing what the rest of my town looks like," wrote one Reddit user on a thread encouraging Houston residents to use Snap Maps to check how different neighborhoods were faring.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Others said they used the feature to check on their homes and those of friends and family.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

"By checking the snaps we know the water hasn't come into the first floor," wrote one poster, who said he hasn't been able to check on his house since the floods started. "Such peace of mind for now."

"I've been worried about not hearing from my best friend in hours. According to the map, it seems like she's okay," wrote another.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Snap Maps is also proving to be a powerful tool for those outside of the Houston area, providing an unfiltered, up-close, look at how the city is being impacted by the storm and subsequent flooding.

Somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 Snaps were submitted to Harvey-related Our Stories between Thursday morning and Sunday evening, according to a Snapchat spokesperson.All that amounts to an extremely detailed look at what's happening on the ground across the sprawling city.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

By swiping around the Houston area on Snapchat's map, you can zoom into different neighborhoods to get an up-close look at how the storm has impacted people over the last 24 hours.

Snapchatters are using the tool to document flooding locations, rescues, and rain-soaked roads, as well as more light-hearted moments showing teens playing in flooded streets and how they're passing the extended time indoors.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

In addition to what's on Snap Maps, Snapchat also rolled out one of its curated news-style Stories highlighting the effects of Harvey on Sunday. The company added a new donation feature to the Story as well so Snapchat users could donate to relief efforts directly from the Story by swiping up on individual Snaps.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Hurricane Harvey is the strongest hurricane to hit the US in 12 years

---

Topics Snapchat Social Media

• Science
• Tech
• Shopping
• Games
• Social Good
• Digital Culture
• Life
• Entertainment

• Get the official Atari 7800+ Console for 50% off
• Sound Tracks: An Interview with Simone Forti
• Redux: The Story of the Story by The Paris Review
• A Gentler Reality Television
• Best rope light deal: Save 25% on Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB LED Strip Lights
• An open letter to Elon Musk: Leave stan Twitter alone
• Wordle today: The answer and hints for November 25
• Contraband Flesh: On Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon by Autumn Womack
• Pairing CPUs and GPUs: PC Upgrades and Bottlenecking
• 'The Hunger Games' is having a resurgence on TikTok: Here's why

• Westworld: Where Nothing Can Go Worng
• Woman Power: Maria Lassnig in New York 1968
• iOS 17.1 just got released — 5 new features coming to your iPhone
• Apple's Shazam just added the best feature ever for concertgoers
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 18
• Questions About Questionnaires
• Summer Hours, Part 2: Slough of Life
• The Queen's corgis and pony Emma attend funeral procession: See the photos.
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for September 14
• Autumn Hours, Part 5: Fool’s Errand

• Best tablet deal: Save $45 on Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet
• Gwyneth Paltrow's drinking tea and he's Ken: The 8 best tweets of the week
• Forging Intimacy
• Gwyneth Paltrow's drinking tea and he's Ken: The 8 best tweets of the week
• How to cancel your Kindle Unlimited subscription
• Solawave's new Radiant Renewal Wand is now available
• The Bad Sex in Fiction Award 2012: Shortlist by Sadie Stein
• Early Cyber Monday Sonos deals: save on Era 100, Move, Roam, and more
• Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Save $170 on Dyson Hot+Cool
• Tom Wolfe, Straight

• Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Best air purifier deals from Dyson, Shark, LG, and more
• Forging Intimacy
• What Our Contributors Are Reading This Month by The Paris Review
• Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals 2023: The 'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' bundle is back
• One of Android's Easter Eggs is a Flappy Bird
• Endless Summer Wells
• Mamma mia! Mario content hits 100 billion views on YouTube
• How to Write Personalities for the AI Around Us
• Best rope light deal: Save 25% on Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB LED Strip Lights
• Gertrude Stein's Mutual Portraiture Society