Hurricane Rita, New Orleans Water Level Animation (Sept 23 2005) This animation was created to show the re-flooding of the Ninth Ward and Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans due to Rita's 8ft storm surge overtopping temporary dike repairs made after Katrina. Data is currently inadequate to confirm if the entire Ninth Ward and Lower Ninth Ward drainages have flooded -- these depictions are based on media photos, on-site accounts of water inflow rate, and rough estimations of drainage volume. The ending state of the animation depicts complete flooding to 8ft above normal sea level, which is the currently-reported storm surge maximum in New Orleans. Any levee breach will eventually fill its drainage to this equilibrium level, the only question is how long it will take. No instrumentation readings are currently available for the water flow rate where levees are compromised or leaking, so no time estimates are presented in this animation. File size: 1370k. Copyright 2005 3D Nature. Project created by Frank Weed.

Hurricane Rita, Galveston Water Level Prediction Animation (Sept 2005) This animation was created to show the prediction of water level in Galveston, Texas, assuming a storm surge of up to 20 feet. The compass rose in the upper right corner indicates North. The Water Level graph on the left indicates water level in feet, from 0 (normal sea level) to a maximum height of 20ft of storm surge. Surge height greater than 20ft was not simulated, because the maximum terrain height on the island is less than 20ft. The Galveston seawall is 17ft tall, and is effectively the retaining wall aganst which the seaward-side of the island is built. It is essentially the highest point of land on the island. The seawall is only a wave energy barrier. It isn't a dike and doesn't enclose the area behind it. See this small diagram for details. A long steady increase in overall water level can creep up the island from behind the seawall. Terrain data was 1/3rd Arcsecond NED DEM. Imagery was 30m Landsat, processed with PixelSense LS combined with 1m Color Infrared DOQQ, processed with PixelSense CIR. The NED terrain surface is made from contour maps, and does NOT include building heights, so it is not indicative of how much the buildings themselves would be submerged. File size: 2200k. Copyright 2005 3D Nature. Project created by Chris Hanson.

Galveston Seawall and Hospital This image was created to indicate the location of the the Galveston seawall that protects the island from wave energy during a storm. The seawall is only a wave energy barrier. It isn't a dike and doesn't enclose the area behind it. See this small diagram for details. A long steady increase in overall water level can creep up the island from behind the seawall. Also indicated is the location of the Galveston medical park, home to the University of Texas Hospital and Shriners Hospital. Terrain data was 1/3rd Arcsecond NED DEM. Imagery was 30m Landsat, processed with PixelSense LS combined with 1m Color Infrared DOQQ, processed with PixelSense CIR. File size: 243k. Copyright 2005 3D Nature. Project created by Chris Hanson.

Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Water Level Animation (August 2005) This animation was created to show the progression of the water level in New Orleans. Terrain data was NED DEM (made from 5m LIDAR data). Imagery was 30m Landsat, processed with PixelSense. Timeline, water height and dike height info was gathered from various sources, including the Army Corps of Engineers. The LIDAR terrain surface includes some clutter from buildings, so it is somewhat representative of the actual building heights. File size: 1100k. Copyright 2005 3D Nature. Project created by Frank Weed.