Aerial Mapping; Tracking Hurricane Ian’s Aftermath

In partnership with McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), a leading provider of intelligence data to re-insurers, Fugro, the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, has completed a rapid response mapping project in southwest Florida following Hurricane Ian’s destruction in the state last week.

The project involved acquisition of high-resolution aerial imagery, using light aircraft, over Port Charlotte and Fort Myers, two of the state’s hardest hit communities where assistance is most needed.

MIS is using the post-disaster imagery from Fugro to perform fast and accurate damage assessments, which will allow insurance companies to help their customers financially recover from this catastrophic event as quickly as possible.

The project was accomplished within days of Hurricane Ian making landfall and represents the first collaboration between Fugro and MIS since announcing a strategic partnership earlier this year. Mobilising to the project site within 24 hours of notice to proceed, Fugro began acquiring aerial imagery on Friday with operations continuing through the weekend.

Project imagery was made available to MIS within 24 hours of each flight, complementing their existing imagery and data sources, and feeding into their damage assessment work in the delivery of loss analysis via their Global Events Observer (GEO) platform.

Louise Jones, Head of Intelligence for MIS, said: “Fugro have been excellent partners as we respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. Their rapid response and high-quality imagery have been a huge help to our Intelligence team, allowing our analysts to produce accurate and timely assessments of the severity and cause of damage.”

Keith Owens, Commercial Director of Remote Sensing and Mapping for Fugro in the Americas, stated: “Responding to a disaster is never easy, but it is critical work. We are proud to have partnered with MIS on this project, contributing to a timely and accurate post-storm analysis that will make a meaningful difference in the communities where we worked this past week.”