DisastersNew method to assess damage from natural disasters

Awesome. Amazing. Incredible. Unbelievable. Spectacular.

These words aptly describe what is left following any natural disaster, whether it’s an earthquake, tornado, hurricane or any other occurrence where homes, buildings or infrastructure are destroyed and lives are turned upside down.

However, these words are not the words the people whose lives have been permanently changed want to hear from anyone in their town assisting with the recovery efforts, or studying the effects of an event, not when it comes to discussing what is left of their homes and businesses, especially while piles of debris line the streets waiting to be cleared. Yet, as people begin to put their lives back together, the effects must be dealt with as well as those piles of debris.

Companies exist across the U.S. specializing in debris removal, and oftentimes, estimates of just how much debris there is to clear – and thus the amount those companies charge cities to clear it – is based on data provided solely by contractors.

Joseph Dannemiller, Larry Tanner and other researchers in the Debris Impact Facility at Texas Tech University are seeking to change the way volumes of debris are measured after a natural disaster.

TTU says that, using drones and high-powered computers, Dannemiller, an instructor in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering and a doctoral candidate in the National Wind Institute,  and his colleagues have developed an information-based model to better analyze and estimate the volume of debris. This can cut down the expense to cities on how much it will cost to have all the debris cleared, potentially saving millions of dollars.

“We decided to develop a volumetric sampling-based model where we would fly over a region, estimate the volume of debris in that region, then fly a different region and estimate the volume of debris in that region,” Dannemiller said. “Then, the industries that have grown up