Good Morning Again,

 

Jon Giles passed this link to an article about LiDAR and its exceptional quality of being able to highlight the areas where landslides have occurred. It seems to me the hardest part other than getting the data is the ability to communicate the risk to communities and get them to take action.

 

“Seattle was one of the first cities to use lidar for landslide mapping. Initially, there was concern that releasing the information to the public would harm property values and slow development, said former state emergency management director Jim Mullen, who headed Seattle’s emergency operations at the time. “We put it out anyway,” Mullen said. “The public needs to know these kinds of things … and developers who are really smart want to know what the risks and hazards are so they can engineer around them.” King County uses lidar to identify flood-prone areas and slopes where landslides are likely. Some counties, including King and Jefferson, have online tools that allow anyone to zoom in lidar maps down to the parcel level, though the quality and resolution of the images varies.”

 

If you have trouble with the web link try using a different web browser.

 

Joseph Young

Executive Director

Maine GeoLibrary

SHS 145

51 Commerce Drive

Augusta, Maine 04333- 145

VP 207-624-2664

FAX 207-287-1131