Digital Technology could prevent flooding.

Storms last fall caused damage for our region and hundreds of homeowners.

Taking pictures with digital cameras is one way of capturing life's special moments. Now, that technology is helping engineers create life-saving plans to minimize the damage from flooding.



You might remember the tremendous effort by the National Guard and local law enforcement, to protect homeowners from high waters. Now, the focus is on "preventing" another disaster.

Nbc 6 reporter Karen Hopkins found the digital plan could save taxpayer dollars and give homeowners some peace of mind.

Stacks of sandbags, three feet high. Debbie Hewko can see them every day from her yard, a daily reminder of the floods last fall.
Her house is steps from the Red Chute levy in Bossier parish. The waters rose so high, she evacuated her entire family. “It was traumatic because you can lose everything over night."

The fear is real for hundreds of homeowners. Digital photography, recently used technology for the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments, could help find ways to minimize the damage.

For three days in November, photographers shot aerial photos of Caddo and Bossier parishes. "Extremely detailed images."
So detailed, they show even water you can't see. "It detect areas turned into marshlands."

Executive director Kent Rogers says by seeing the path of the flood, engineers can design plans to divert water away from homes and businesses.
The photos show how high the water came up over these sandbags and which part of the levee engineers should build up.

“A lot of these homes would have been underwater. By telling how we can raise the levees, we can protect the homes,” Rogers says.

A plan Hewko says she can live with -- one that keeps her family and others safe.

Taking the aerial photos cost about $250,000. Rogers says, the federal government paid for 80 percent, while local oil and gas companies covered the rest, in order to have access to the images.

The Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments is organizing the flooding photos. The association works with our local governments. It helps plan transportation and regional development projects.