In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey’s assault on Texas and Louisiana, drones and small planes equipped with cameras and instruments fill the sky, getting a bird’s-eye view of the destruction. And new advances in photogrammetry are making their images increasingly valuable to assessors and rebuilders.

Aerial imaging firm Nearmap focuses on not just capturing photos but also deliverables useful to the construction industry. Working from images captured by regular flyovers, the firm is able to generate high-resolution aerial imagery that can be imported into CAD programs for reference during repairs and reconstruction after a storm.