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This section will be dedicated to providing information on research related to hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the impact of these disasters on the people and different affected regions. Please email here if you wish to contribute to this section (include contact details, organizations/Universities involved, description of research and any relevant web links)
As a part of the MCEER reconnaissance effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, remote sensing technologies and the VIEWS™ system were used to rapidly collect High Resolution Photo and High Definition Video surveys of damage over large geographical areas, first along the Gulf Coast and then in New Orleans. VIEWS™ (Visualizing Impacts of Earthquake With Satellites) is a notebook-based system developed by ImageCat Inc. through funding from MCEER. The VIEWS™ system integrates satellite imagery with real-time GPS (Global Positioning System) readings and map layers, and operates in conjunction with a digital camera and digital video recorder, to record damage following a disaster. The images collected between September 7-9, 2005 and their GPS coordinates have been integrated with Google Earth and are available for download as a complete system. Team Members: Shubharoop Ghosh of ImageCat Inc. and Carol Hill, Louisiana State University (LSU) Hurricane Center http://www.hurricane.lsu.edu/ Reconnaissance Dates: October 5-11, 2005 Remote Sensing Surveillance: LSU Earth Scan Laboratory The Earth Scan Laboratory (ESL) provided real-time satellite coverage of Katrina’s movements from inception to landfall and beyond on their live web page (http://www.esl.lsu.edu). They also provided a continuous stream of satellite data, analyses, and consultations for four days (24-hour/day) at the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The GOES imagery, updated every few minutes, provides essential atmospheric and oceanic information for tracking hurricane motion and intensity for emergency response activities. In the aftermath of Katrina, ESL faculty and staff provided essential satellite imagery of flooding and coastal oil slicks, imagery which was obtained by our LSU antenna farm and also that provided by the University of Miami CSTARS lab and Radarsat International, via NOAA NESDIS researchers. ESL staff rapidly geo-rectified several SPOT images of New Orleans flooding and provided these to the LSU Hurricane Center, other LSU researchers, to the Red Cross, and to the LSU FEMA computer storage system. Radar images of oil slicks were provided rapidly to LOSCO, the Coast Guard, DEQ, Louisiana Sea Grant. The ESL developed a Katrina web page to enable easy access to these data. Nan Walker , Director, Earth Scan Laboratory http://www.esl.lsu.edu/home/ LA Emergency Operations Center (EOC) GIS Response Mapping A New Orleans GIS database has been in development since 2002 through the Louisiana Board of Regents funded CSPHIH pilot study. The development of the database was led by the Louisiana Geological Survey, with contributions from the LSU Department of Geography and Anthropology and LSU Coastal Studies Institute. This GIS capability was taken on-site to the state emergency operations center in the days following Hurricane Katrina to provide Federal, state and local agencies and emergency responders quick access to data and maps in support of critical hurricane response missions. At the time of Hurricane Katrina, the database contained over sixty layers of detailed information on the New Orleans study area comprising Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes. Additional data was provided during the hurricane response by DHS-FEMA, NGA and other LSU partners (including the CSI and WHOCC). With direction from LSU G&A Director and CSPHIH PI Dr. John Pine, mapping support was expanded from on-site at the EOC to the LSU CADGIS Lab through the help of numerous LSU faculty researchers and volunteers. Over the ensuing weeks following the hurricane, over 130 requests for GIS data and maps were provided by LSU to over thirty agencies at the EOC, including: DHS-FEMA; the EOC Command Team; Governor’s Office; FBI; Louisiana State Police; Public Health Service; LA DHH; Army-National Guard; Coast Guard; EPA; DWF and numerous others. LSU volunteers from the Geography Department and other LSU Centers dedicated long hours and supplied varying levels of GIS expertise to fill the crucial need for immediate GIS response mapping, as government mapping agencies shifted personnel, equipment and capabilities to Baton Rouge. The LSU mapping team was proud to provide maps of New Orleans to LSP and emergency responders; support the USGS and DWF in 911 mapping of distress calls for search and rescue; map shelter information and docking stations for the Red Cross, and map locations of staging areas and supplies for DOD agencies among many other requests. Team Members and Participating Volunteers included: LSU CSPHIH: Ivor van Heerden, S. Ahmet Binselam, Kate Streva, Ezra Boyd Cartographic Information Center, Department of Geography & Anthropology, LSU The Cartographic Information Center (CIC) began supplying paper and digital maps to the LSU personnel staffing the Geographic Information Systems desk at the Louisiana State Office of Emergency Preparedness Emergency Operations Center in support of rescue operations within a few days after Hurricane Katrina struck. These maps were supplied from both the CIC collection and through commercial purchases and donations. Less than two weeks after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, the CIC normal daily operations were suspended when the CIC Director was detailed to coordinate the on campus LSU GIS support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rescue and recovery operations. Normal CIC operations resumed after a month to meet the demand for the CIC’s services. The CIC continues to provide support to LSU personnel, FEMA, and the private sector involved in the recovery effort by providing historic maps and aerial photographs of the affected areas. Some examples of how these materials are being used include mapping the urbanization of swamps in the New Orleans, selecting debris dumpsites, and in infrastructure rebuilding. In addition, the CIC continues to provide historic maps and aerial photographs of other areas of Louisiana in support of new development and infrastructure improvement. Further, the CIC Director’s role in coordinating on Campus GIS support continues and will expand as a consultant with the Hurricane GIS Clearing House. Submitted by: John M. Anderson, Map Librarian and Director, Cartographic Information Center. |
