LIDAR

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s798.htm

This is an example of a LIDAR image from NOAA that shows piles of rubble and debris in New York back in 2001. The LIDAR is available from planes with special lasers on them that scan the areas and allow 3-D images to be produced. In this case, the images were produced so that construction workers knew what types of cranes would be appropriate for the clean-up procedures.