FEMAUSACE 3001 Imagery Missions for Hurricane Katrina and Rita

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FEMA/USACE 3001 Imagery Missions for Hurricane
Katrina and Rita

• Prepared for ASPRS Annual Conference
• Reno, Nevada

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Hurricane Katrina

• 6th Most Intense Hurricane Recorded in the
  Atlantic Basin (902 mbar)
• Maximum Sustained Winds of 175 MPH
• Makes Landfall August 29th as a Cat 4 Near Buras,
  LA
• 145 MPH Winds On Initial Landfall in LA
• Biloxi Recorded 30-Foot Surge is the Highest
  Recorded Storm Surge in America

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Hurricane Katrina

• Cat 3 When Hitting the MS Coastline
• 10-30 Foot Storm Surge on Over 200 Continuous
  Miles of MS Coastland
• Hurricane Force Winds 120 Miles Outward from the
  Eye
• Remained a Hurricane Until 150 Miles Inland Near
  Jackson, MS.
• Was Downgraded to a Tropical Depression Near
  Clarksville, TN.
• Last Location was Over Southeast Quebec, Northern
  New Brunswick with 50 MPH Winds

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Effects on 3001

• 3001 had Four Offices Impacted by Katrina
• 132 Employees and their Families were Displaced
• 32 Lost their Homes and Possessions
• We have a Vested Interest in the Success of this
  Project
• Slidell and New Orleans Offices Relocated to Lake
  Charles, LA

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Contract and SOW

• 3001 Has an IDT Contract with St. Louis COE for
  Various Geospatial Services
• FEMA Partnered with St. Louis COE
• Product Description
• 11,800 Square Miles
• 1-Foot Pixel, Planar Rectified
• Capture with ADS40 or Similar Digital System
• Color Imagery
• Schedule
• Deliver Data to FEMA Daily Within 24 Hours of
  Capture

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Approach

• Captured with Three ADS40s, Using Two LearJet
  24s, and One Cessna 401.
• Data Captured Daily and Flown Directly to
  Gainesville, FL.
• Processed Overnight
• Hand Delivered by Private Aircraft to USACE and
  FEMA in Washington DC the Next Day

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Timeline - Contracting

• 8/29/05 - Katrina Makes Landfall
• 8/30/05 - COE Contacts 3001 to Determine
  Availability. Initial SOW Prepared. Flightlines
  Created and GPS Baselines Determined.
• 9/2/05 Funding Approved and Contract Signed
• 9/3/05 Flights Begin

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Timeline Product Generation
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Resulting Data

• Actually Captured 16,000 Square Miles
• Cloud Cover/Reflights Major Reason Why
• 3,433 Images Total Delivered in 16 Days
• Due to Quick Turnaround
• Does not Support 1200, Does Support 1400.
  (little control, high-speed aircraft for pixel
  size)

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Product SamplesLouisiana Superdome
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Product SamplesUptown, New Orleans
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Product SamplesWaveland, MS
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Product SamplesWaveland, MS
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Product SamplesWaveland, MS
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Successes and Lessons Learned

• 24-Hour Turnaround Possible
• Understanding of Product Limits is Essential
• Data Distribution is Very Complex
• Multiple Terabytes
• Dozens of Requests for Complete Dataset (40 200
  GB Firewire Drives Delivered)
• SOW and Deployment was Quick, Contracting
  Mechanism was Relatively Slow to React

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And Along Came Rita

• 4th Most Intense Hurricane Recorded in the
  Atlantic Basin (897 mbar)
• Maximum Sustained Winds of 175 MPH, Peak Wind
  Gust of 235 MPH
• Makes Landfall September 24th as a Cat 3 Between
  Sabine Pass, TX and Johnsons Bayou, LA
• 120 MPH Winds and 10-Foot Storm Surge at Landfall

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Contract and SOW

• Same Contract Vehicle as with Katrina (St. Louis
  COE and FEMA)
• Product Description
• 10,648 Square Miles
• 1-Foot Pixel, Planar Rectified
• Capture with ADS40 or Similar Digital System
• Color Imagery
• Schedule
• Ship Data to FEMA Daily Within 24 Hours of Capture

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Approach

• Captured with Three ADS40s, Using One LearJet
  24s, One Cessna 421, and One Cessna 401.
• Data Captured Daily and Flown Directly to
  Gainesville, FL.
• Processed Overnight
• FedEx to USACE and FEMA in Washington DC the Next
  Day

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Timeline - Contracting

• 9/22/05 - COE Contacts 3001 to Determine
  Availability.
• 9/24/05 - Rita Makes Landfall. SOW Prepared.
  Flightlines Created and GPS Baselines Determined.
• 9/28/05 Funding Approved and Contract Signed
• 9/30/05 Flights Begin (Weather Delayed)

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Timeline Product Generation
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Timeline Totals

• 10,668 Square Miles Captured, Processed, and
  Delivered in 12 Days

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Successes Confirmed but were Lessons Learned?

• 24-Hour Turnaround Confirmed, However Fedex
  Delivery is acceptable in Lieu if Hand Delivery
• Electronic Submission/Distribution Would be
  Preferred as Data Distribution is Still Very
  Complex and a Better Solution Should be Found
• SOW and Deployment was Quicker, Contracting was
  Still Comparatively Slow to React

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Product SamplesBlue Roof Studies
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Product SamplesBlue Roof Studies
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FEMA/USACE 3001 Imagery Missions for Hurricane
Katrina and Rita

• Prepared for ASPRS Annual Conference
• Reno, Nevada