About us
Our Mission
Our mission is to improve the understanding of tornadoes and the damage they produce through unique observations, innovative technologies and state of the art science methods.
We observe tornadoes from the ground and aloft with cutting-edge sensors, and assess damage impacts using drone imagery and ground surveys.
By sharing post-tornado survey information with partner agencies, and our new insights with the scientific community and public, we can better protect people and property from these storms.
Our History
The scientists of Disaster Imaging Inc pioneered the study of tornado damage utilizing drone imagery. This work, begun by Dr. Melissa Wagner and volunteer partners, moved to the National Severe Storms Laboratory in 2017. In 2024, Dr. Wagner started Dii, a non-profit research organization to more quickly advance the mission and increase our service to society. In 2025, Dr. Erik Rasmussen retired from NSSL and joined Dii to continue a multi-decade career in tornado research.
With the generous support of the Jonathan Merage foundation, in our first year we have obtained unprecedented data on tornado damage, including the tornado that struck Enderlin North Dakota… the first EF-5 rated tornado in the US in since 2015.
Dii is assembling a team of innovators from a broad set of backgrounds to fulfill our mission of improving the understanding of tornadoes and the damage they produce.
Our Team
The Dii team is among the most experienced in the field, combining decades of experience in field research, realtime data acquisition and analysis, and drone imagery collection…
Dr. Melissa Wagner
Melissa Wagner founded Disaster Imaging Inc. in 2024. She started working with UAS technologies in 2017 and is a pioneer in UAS damage assessments. She worked with and continues to work with the National Weather Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency to improve the collection and dissemination of disaster information. At the National Severe Storms Laboratory and University of Oklahoma, she developed a multidisciplinary research program (tornado damage science) to examine the tornado holistically (damage impacts, radar, modeling). She brings extensive experience in remote sensing, GIS, UAS, severe storm research, and more. In her career, Melissa has mapped over 50 severe storm events using UAS. She has published more than 20 educational papers, presented research at 40 conferences and participated in public outreach. In 2024, she and her collaborators were nominated for a NOAA Bronze Medal Award.
Dr. Erik Rasmussen
Erik Rasmussen has been a leader in severe storms research for over 40 years. In the 1980s, he developed techniques for photogrammetric analysis of tornado movies that he obtained in the Southern Plains. In the 1990s he planned and led the VORTEX field program, the first large-scale coordinated mobile observing program aimed at understanding tornado formation. For his work, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. In the subsequent decades, while living fully off-grid in western Colorado and doing grant-supported research, he held leadership roles in the VORTEX2, TORUS, and RiVorS field programs and a number of smaller field programs related to tornadoes and severe storms. In 2015, Erik returned to the National Weather Center as the lead scientist for the VORTEX-Southeast program focused on tornado issues in the Southeast U.S., and was involved in a number of field campaigns, with a strong new emphasis on damage assessment integrated with the social and behavioral sciences.In addition to extensive research program, planning and coordination experience, Rasmussen brings strong skills in data analysis and visualization to DII.
Would you like to help us in our mission?
We are grateful to the many folks we have encountered in tornado damage areas who generously helped us do our work despite their difficult circumstances. (You know who you are!)
We are grateful for the support of the Jonathan Merage Foundation and anonymous donors!
Any donation helps us in our mission to understand tornadoes, and thereby improve lives. Disaster Imaging Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit scientific organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.