Monday, May 09, 2011

Tornado Damage Assessment Imagery Available to the Public

On April 29, May 2, and May 4, NOAA's National Geodetic Survey and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations deployed to the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa areas of Alabama for aerial mapping of the long string of catastrophic tornado damage in the Southeast. The imagery data was processed immediately following flights and is publicly accessible here.

This imagery data has several applications, including helping to determine the extent of the damage inflicted by the storms and to compare the storm forecast models to actual damage on the ground.

Flights were coordinated with federal and state authorities, including the Alabama National Guard, the state of Alabama, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), NOAA's National Weather Service, and other responders.

For more information, contact Jonathan Neuhaus.