I worked with google maps and google earth. Google maps usually provided better use of the street view function while Goggle earth usually provide better information on things in the neighborhood such as food stores, movies, churches, fire stations and transportations hubs.

http://www.floodsmart.gov (make sure it is the .gov extension and not the .com extrention) provide good feed back on the need of flood insurance which I did not always find listed accurately on the MLS.

One last stop I would do is visit the most local government site you can get for plot maps and tax infomation. Sometimes those sites will also confirm the flood plan in the area. Here is an example for Newport Beach governmental site: http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/

hope this helps,
Tim

If you are looking at properties, the listings from the MLS have a feature to do the same thing., area map or satellite map. If you contact me I'll send the listings, no obligation.

Microsoft's "Bing" does the same thing and looks remarkably similar to Google's.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=aerial+view+maps&form=QBRE

Go to Google Maps and put in the address, it will show streets, sat and more.

There are a few websites out there that offer this service, but make sure the photos are up to date.