Location: Louisiana

Services include:

• GIS modeling
• Disaster mapping
• Flood type determination
• Data acquisition
• Damage analysis

The 2005 hurricane season was a devastating one, particularly for the Gulf Coast states and their residents. 

Because the area of destruction resulting from hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, and Rita covered multiple states, assessing damage on the ground using traditional methods was not practical. Baker used the latest technologies to assist FEMA in its efforts to quickly identify damaged areas and provide storm victims with funding for temporary housing while ground investigations took place.

Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related computer technologies, Baker created a list containing parcel information or 9-digit zip code areas that were most impacted by the storms, which helped identify the areas with the highest probability for damage. Baker has also created the GIS models to automate many of the compilation tasks.

Major tasks performed as part of this project included data acquisition, determination of damage extent and type, flood type determinations (ponding, storm surge, riverine), and overall damage analysis.