Aerial imaging firm EagleView Technologies is using 20 planes and drones to help with Hurricane Irma’s relief efforts in Florida.
The Bothell company is using the aircraft to capture post-storm images in Florida to assess damage and help with the recovery.
The company started sending up aircraft as soon as it was permitted to fly, said EagleView President Rishi Daga in a statement.
EagleView has an image library of Florida homes and businesses dating back to 2002. Those images are helping insurance carriers, first responders, nonprofits and local government agencies analyze the impact of the storm comparing the new images with the old ones.
The flights are expected to take place continuously over the next several weeks with EagleView making constant updates to its nearly four-petabyte imagery and data library.
The company maintains a fleet of scores of planes and drones stationed across the U.S. and Canada, outfitted with camera systems that capture images from every available angle.
It uses the images to measure every aspect of a building, including walls, windows, doors and siding — and do so more accurately than measurements done by hand.
The information from those photos are used by the construction industry, insurance companies, solar panel installers, government agencies and utilities. EagleView Technologies previously helped with Hurricane Sandy.