Reno company's technology analyzes hurricane damage

SpecTIR was hired by Boeing Corp to record a spectral baseline of more than 150 square miles inundated by Hurricane Katrina.

The images showed leakage of fuel oil and hazardous materials from tank farms.

The Reno-based company's base-view images use factors such as radiance and reflectance to obtain a unique view of what lies beneath, unseen by ordinary human vision.

Spectral Technology and Innovative Research Corp.worked with Wes Brush of Online Aerial photography in Reno,who flew the mission in a Cessna 206.

Because New Orleans facilities were flooded, the team operated from a Shreveport airstrip.

The assignment: to record the situation as close to "epic zero" as possible, says Mark Landers, SpecTIR's president and chief executive officer.

The task required scrambling to arrange logistics and capture the scene as soon as possible after the hurricane hit.

The survey work was completed from Sept.

5-10.

While Boeing wants the images for scientific analysis, such a record of chemicals and minerals in the floodwaters could be of interest to insurance companies, says Landers.

In a statement, Boeing said the images it captured may assist federal, state and local agencies that are evaluating the effects of the hurricane.