NOAA CONDUCTS AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY MISSIONS OVER REGIONS AFFECTED
BY HURRICANE WILMA

Oct. 27, 2005 — NOAA posted online more than 1,500 aerial images of some of the regions that were affected by Hurricane Wilma. NOAA began aerial survey missions on Tuesday, which is the day after Hurricane Wilma made landfall as a major Category Three at approximately 6:30 a.m. EDT on Monday at Cape Romano 15 to 18 miles south-southeast of Naples, Fla., or about 20 miles west of Everglades City, Fla. The regions photographed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday include the Florida Keys, southwestern portions of the state and areas near Lake Okeechobee. The aerial photography missions were conducted by the NOAA Remote Sensing Division. (Click NOAA aerial image for larger view of damage done by Hurricane Wilma to homes in Chokoloskee, Fla., taken Oct. 25, 2005, a day after the Category Three storm made landfall. 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.

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 aerial image for larger view of damage done by Hurricane Wilma to homes in Belle Glade, Fla., taken Oct. 25, 2005, after the Category Three storm made landfall on the southwestern region of the state. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

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 Florida Regions Impacted by Hurricane Wilma

NOAA Remote Sensing Division

NOAA National Geodetic Survey

Media Contact:
Greg Hernandez, NOAA, (202) 482-3091