Oblique imagery shows a property from four angles — North, South, East, and West — rather than just from directly above. This means you can see the walls, roof profile, and sides of a building, not just its footprint. On GEO, oblique imagery is available for properties across the United States and Canada, with an archive going back more than a decade.
[SCREENSHOT: Oblique imagery viewer showing a property from the North angle, with the four direction buttons (N, E, S, W) visible]
What oblique imagery shows
Standard aerial and satellite imagery gives you a top-down view. This is useful for seeing roof damage and overall footprint, but it misses side wall damage, construction type details, and anything on the vertical faces of a building.
Oblique imagery fills this gap. Each capture gives you four angled views of the property at roughly 45 degrees, from each compass direction. Together they give a much more complete picture of a building's condition.
Accessing oblique imagery
Oblique imagery is available on any event report within the United States and Canada.
Open an event report.
Zoom into the map until the Oblique button in the top-right map controls toolbar turns white (it activates at a close zoom level).
Click the Oblique button (button turns purple)
The oblique imagery viewer opens, showing the property at the centre of your map view.
Use the N, E, S, W buttons to switch between directions or select full screen to enlarge the image.
[SCREENSHOT: Event report at close zoom with the Oblique button highlighted in the toolbar, shown in white/active state]
Note: This functionality is available for 94% Of U.S. Population plus, more than 65% of Canada’s four largest provinces: Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.
The oblique archive
The oblique imagery archive goes back more than ten years, and for some areas extends to before the year 2000. Crucially, this archive exists independently of any specific event — the imagery was captured by EagleView as part of their ongoing nationwide data collection, not only in response to catastrophes.
This means you can use oblique imagery to:
Review the construction type and materials of a property before any event has occurred
Compare a property's condition across multiple years to see how it has changed
Assess buildings in areas where no post-event imagery has been collected yet
Comparing pre- and post-event in oblique
The oblique viewer includes a Compare mode with a date selector. This lets you view the same property from the same angle at two different dates side by side — for example, showing pre-event and post-event captures.
To use Compare mode:
Open the oblique viewer for a property.
Click Compare.
Use the date selector to choose the two dates you want to compare.
The viewer shows both images side by side in the same direction.
[SCREENSHOT: Oblique Compare mode showing a property from the East in two years, with clear differences between the pre- and post-event images]
What oblique imagery is useful for
Use case | Why oblique helps |
Assessing wall and side damage | Aerial imagery won't show cracked cladding, blown-out windows, or structural damage to walls |
Reviewing construction type | Identify whether a building has a timber frame, masonry, or steel construction by looking at wall details |
Assessing survivability across events | Compare a property's condition through multiple events over several years |
Claims investigations | Establish pre-event condition to dispute or support a claim |
FAQ
The Oblique button isn't turning white. What should I do?
Zoom in further. The oblique viewer only activates at a close zoom level — typically down to individual street level. If you're still zoomed out to a city or region view, the button stays grey.
Is oblique imagery available outside the US and Canada?
Not currently. Oblique imagery is provided by EagleView, whose coverage is limited to the United States and Canada. For other regions, pre/post aerial and satellite imagery are available where MIS has collected them.
How current is the oblique archive?
EagleView updates their imagery continuously. The most recent capture date varies by location. The date selector in Compare mode shows which dates are available for any specific property.
Can I download oblique imagery?
No. Like all imagery on GEO, oblique imagery cannot be downloaded due to licensing terms. If you need imagery for a specific purpose, contact [email protected].
Related articles
[Pre & Post-Event Imagery]
[Streetcar Imagery]
[Map Controls]
[MIS Investigations]