GIS 4048: Week 4 - Hurricanes

In the immediate hours after a hurricane's landfall, there is a need for damage assessment. This past week I got to work as a GIS technician for a major university, in which I have been contracted by a private company to digitize/assess damage caused by Hurricane Sandy at the site level.  In doing so, I created a map showing Hurricane Sandy's track history during the month of October in 2012.  Looking at the map, you'll notice that the states that are most impacted are shown in yellow with a green diagonal line.  The rest of the states are shown in grey.  By tracking Hurricane Sandy, you can see the mile per hour winds and the Bar. Pressure.  

I also created a map showing the property damage caused by the tropical storm.  The image at the top of the map, located below, shows the imagery before the storm hit. Looking at the bottom imagery, you'll notice how much damage was caused by the storm.  You'll also see that there are different points in the bottom imagery.  Those points represent the property damage.  You'll notice that the buildings that are closest to the water have more of an impact than those further away from the water.  I also provided two inset maps showing the location of the Damage Assessment Area.  

Overall, I really enjoyed creating these two maps.  I learned multiple new tools this past week, and I'm looking forward to learning more.  The creation of these two maps went pretty smoothly for the most part.  I did have one challenge, however.  Upon the creation of my first map, I think I messed up the projections somehow, which caused me to start from scratch.  Fortunately, it was only a small hiccup and I was able to complete everything in a day's work.