So, how is all that homeland security data for the 133 cities being used? Here’s one story:


In 2005, “after Des Moines hosted the National Governors Association's meeting, a disk with some of the data was given to government officials in Iowa. It contained information about buildings, trees, forests and topography.” After the event? I thought perhaps they’d want the data in hand before to prep for any issues?

That data ended up in the hands of David Croll, GIS coordinator for the city of Johnston. When flooding threatened the city this summer and intern suggested using the LiDAR data to determine the most risky areas. It worked:

"Instead of taking sandbags to 15 houses, we took them to one," he said. "It was incredibly accurate" in predicting where flooding would occur. He has since used the information for a tree inventory in the city.

- Des Moines Register