Leica Geosystems: Digital Imaging Makes Colorado Flood Imagery More Valuable

摘要

Torrential rains began falling on Colorado the week of Sept. 9, 2013, and by the weekend, deadly flood waters had inundated thousands of square miles along the Rocky Mountain Front Range from Denver up to Fort Collins and spreading into the northeast part of the state. Boulder County alone received a year's worth of rain in five days. Statewide, three major rivers - the South Platte, St. Vrain and Big Thompson - are believed to have exceeded their 100-year flood levels, while others hit the 50-year mark. As the magnitude of the disaster became more apparent - and the rain continued to fall - four organizations in attendance called a hasty meeting with Ayres Associates, an engineering and geospatial consulting firm based in Wisconsin, with an office in Fort Collins. The firm had provided extensive aerial mapping services in the previous 12 months to several cities and counties that had formed a consortium for floodplain management activities in the Colorado Front Range.