Home Based Business

As people continue to recover after Hurricane Helene, scientists are taking a look at the devastation from a new angle with the help of some new technology.From flooded houses to washed-out roads, weve seen hundreds of images of devastation from Helene. And now, new images from the U.S. Geological Survey are providing a different look at the damage.Using lasers and GPS cameras, the USGS is taking aerial photographs and mapping landslides across hard-hit areas in North Carolina and Tennessee, using lasers and GPS cameras. USGS research geologist Ben Mirus was one of the scientists on the team. He says his team has surveyed 1,521 landslides across the Southern Appalachian mountains as of Oct. 23.”We saw everything from, landslides near power lines, landslides along roads, blocking or undermining roads. We unfortunately saw a number of houses destroyed by landslides and, just catastrophic level of landslides,” he said. He says they saw the greatest concentration of destruction around the Asheville area.”They got hit with the most rainfall. And there’s also very steep, rugged terrain with a lot of people living in those areas,” he said.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking hereThey used their findings to create a database that is updated daily to help first responders navigate recovery efforts on the ground in real-time.”Unfortunately, most people don’t pay much attention to landslides until it impacts them or their community or their loved ones,” he said.They hope their work will not only help lead the conversation on long-term impacts from the storm, but help them prevent destruction like this in the future. Databases like this are helpful for leaders like Rob Baldwin. Baldwin is the Wilkes Soil and Water Conservation District director leading cleanup and recovery from the aspect of soil and water. “Some college student is going to write his dissertation on the exact question that you posed is, ‘What were the effects of the thousand-year hurricane?'” he said.He says from the water system to soil to geography, experts haven’t even considered all the impacts from landslides alone yet. So databases like this are one step in the right direction to answering those questions.Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here.One example of the impact of landslides is on local water systems.The North Carolina Department of Water Resources says the water system in Asheville is struggling to decontaminate its sources because of sediment from landslides.They are still under a boil-water advisory. NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love |