Initial Norwegian news reports predicted that the impact from this year’s spring flooding would be extensive; the damage would propagate down the rivers and reach more central areas. Blom reacted quickly, mobilising their aircraft over the affected waterways and rivers to acquire aerial imagery and document the results of the flooding.
Blom has been in constant discussions with agencies that will greatly benefit from using aerial imagery covering the flooded areas, making sure the data collected meets customer requirement. Between the 24th of May and the 26th of May Blom used its vast expertise and operational experience to collect over 5,000 aerial images covering the flood-affected areas.
After having consulted with NVE, the Norwegian waterways and energy directorate, flight plans were created covering Glommavassdraget and large sections of Skienselva, Gudbrandsdalslågen and Drammensvassdraget. Each morning the pilots were given an updated list of river stretches to prioritise based on the estimated flood peaks. Good weather conditions allowed for the flights to be completed smoothly and according to plan. All flights were conducted at low altitude to stay below potential cloud cover, resulting in un-obscured, good quality imagery.
Blom is currently in discussions with various agencies who will receive multiple benefits from the imagery. "We have close contact with NVE, who throughout the process has shown great interest in the imagery. Their interest was crucial when we decided to spend comprehensive resources on this project", said Nils Karbø, Chief Technical Officer at Blom.
The main purpose of this unique dataset will be to document the resulting damages created by the flooding and subsequent landslide. This is of enormous value when calculating compensation as a result of the flooding and for important work related to preventing similar flooding damage in the future.
About Blom
The Blom Group is the largest provider of geospatial services in Europe for both government agencies and private commercial organizations and companies. Blom owns exclusive spatial databases composed of maps, images and 3D models. Focused on online services, Blom provides data and solutions to its customers in many markets and allows its partners to create high added-value applications based on Blom data models and services. This strategy is backed by Blom’s major technical capacity in aircrafts, cameras, laser scanners and mapping systems. This makes it possible for all projects to be carried out within the company, assuring a high quality product is delivered both on-time and to budget. Blom has around 600 employees and offices in 10 countries and its HQ is located in Oslo, Norway. Blom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker BLO). For more information, visit www.blomasa.com @Blom_Group