Kona Village and the Kona Development Aerial Topographic Mapping ProjectDevastated by the March 2011 tsunami, Kona Village had been a mainstay on the resort circuit for savvy travelers due in equal parts to its unique island ambiance, relative isolation, and stunning location.
Sam O. Hirota, Inc. is supporting the restoration and rebirth of the Kona Village resort with state-of-the-art aerial photogrammetry. These high-resolution, GPS-encoded images will help planners reconstruct and improve the site. |
Sam O. Hirota, Inc.Sam O. Hirota, Inc. as Master Engineering Consultant provided civil engineering planning and permitting services for transportation, a wastewater treatment system, electrical engineering and communications. Land surveying services included shoreline certification, a boundary study, topographic site survey.
The project involved managing and coordinating subcontractor Photo Science, Inc., who conducted aerial color imaging and digital LiDAR collection, including post processing and contour line; digital terrain models; and digital elevation model creation for 4,200 acres. The LiDAR sensor collected full waveform data allowing for better definition of information under dense tree canopy in tropical environments. LiDAR data was filtered to bare-earth allowing removal of vegetation from the terrain model which was field verified as a check. This project was completed before the March 11, 2011 Japan tsunami which destroyed much of Kona Village’s infrastructure and facilities. Sam O. Hirota, Inc. used thousands of GPS encoded photographs to capture the post-tsunami damage. The images were combined with the LiDAR mapping to help evaluate the FIRM zones, which were superimposed on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) data with aerial and detailed topographic survey information to communicate with the design team, FEMA and the County of Hawaii our determination and impact to the restoration Master Plan. |