NOAA PERFORMS AERIAL SURVEY OF REGIONS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE RITA

Sept. 26, 2005 � NOAA today posted online more than 1,100 aerial images of the U.S. Gulf Coast areas in the path of Hurricane Rita. The regions photographed on Sunday covered the coastal regions of Louisiana and Texas. The aerial photography missions were conducted by the NOAA Remote Sensing Division the day after the center of Rita made landfall at approximately 3:30 a.m. EDT on the extreme southwest coast of Louisiana between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnson's Bayou in Louisiana. (Click NOAA image for larger view of the destruction in Cameron, La., left in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

NOAA used an Emerge/Applanix Digital Sensor System, or DSS, to acquire the images from an altitude of 7,500 feet. The equipment was mounted on NOAA’s Cessna Citation aircraft, which is a versatile twin-engine jet aircraft modified for acquiring coastal remote sensing imagery. The aircraft can support a wide variety of remote sensing configurations, including large format aerial photography, as well as data collection for digital cameras, hyperspectral, multispectral and LIDAR systems.

(Click NOAA image for larger view of the path of destruction in Sabine Pass, Texas, left in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

(Click NOAA image for larger view of the path of destruction in Sabine Pass, Texas, left in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

(Click NOAA image for larger view of Hurricane Rita tracking map. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

The NOAA Cessna Citation aircraft acquired 3-D images of the World Trade Center and Pentagon just days after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. (Click NOAA image for larger view of the destruction in Holly Beach, La., left in the wake of Hurricane Rita. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

The NOAA imagery was acquired to support the agency’s national security and emergency response requirements. In addition, the imagery will be used for ongoing research efforts for testing and developing standards for airborne digital imagery.

NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Aerial Images of USA Gulf Coast Impacted by Hurricane Rita

NOAA Remote Sensing Division

NOAA National Geodetic Survey

NOAA Storm Watch — Rita

NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations

NOAA Ocean Service

NOAA Fisheries Service

Media Contact:
Greg Hernandez, NOAA, (202) 482-3091 (aerial images) or David Miller, NOAA, (202) 482-0013 (NOAA Rita activities)