Joanna Crews
Dewberry will help the U.S. Geological Survey identify the impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands through the collection of topographic data via light detection and ranging.
The company said Wednesday it will gather and process Quality Level 1 lidar data under the USGS Geospatial Product and Services Contract for the 3D Elevation Program.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and USGS have previously tapped the company for topographic and bathymetric lidar data of an over 3,400-square mile area.
Amar Nayegandhi, vice president of Dewberry’s geospatial and technology services, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its partners and the local government of Puerto Rico used the pre-storm data under the previous task order to support disaster recovery efforts.
Work will run through the spring of 2019 and will include Culebra, Vieques and Isla de Mona in Puerto Rico, and the areas of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Dewberry will conduct ground surveys and the company’s geospatial team will process and develop digital elevation models and supplemental products.
Leading Edge Geomatics will use two Riegl VQ1560i sensors for data acquisition as a subconsultant of Dewberry.
The new and pre-storm data will be compared to assess the impact of the category five hurricane that hit the territories in September 2017.
Dewberry has helped FEMA map, explore sea levels and plan mitigation approaches for Puerto Rico for over 10 years while the U.S. Virgin Islands have not been surveyed for lidar data for more than 10 years.
