Hurricane Mitch – October 1998Hurricane Mitch – October 1998

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▪ Hurricane stalled over the mainland October 29 - 31 1998.

Destruction Caused by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras

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▪ 7,000 fatalities

▪ 33,000 homes destroyed

▪ 95 bridges destroyed

▪ 70% of road network damaged

Flood-inundated area

Rio CholutecaTributary

Flooding Caused by Hurricane MitchFlooding Caused by Hurricane Mitch

Destroyed housing

Destroyedagriculture

Landslides Caused by Hurricane MitchLandslides Caused by Hurricane Mitch

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El Berrinche Landslide Scar (looking south)El Berrinche Landslide Scar (looking south)

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Cross Section and Lidar Map of El Berrinche Landslide in Honduras (map view to west)

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1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0Distance (meters)

900

1000

1100

1200

Ele

vati

on

(m

ete

rs)

60 degree slope

Lidar : Light Detection and Ranging

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▪ Scanning mirror sweeps laser beam across the ground

▪ Range to target is determined by measuring time interval between outgoing and return of reflected laser pulse

▪ Aircraft position is determined using GPS phase differencing techniques

▪ Pointing direction of laser determined with Inertial Measuring Unit (IMU) and recording of mirror position

▪ Data streams recorded and synchronized to process

Review of Lidar PrinciplesReview of Lidar Principles

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Flight lines

Survey area

Lidar Flight Lines over Tegucigalpa, Honduras

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▪ Two-dimensional map of Tegucigalpa, Honduras

▪ El Berrinche landslide scar shown by black dotted line

▪ Colors show elevation of land surface in meters

▪ Map is about 3000 m (3 km) wide by 3200 m (3.2 km) tall.

Result of Lidar Mapping

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