Patrick Svenburg, senior manager of Microsoft Federal Business, said Microsoft, Google and Yahoo recognized that there's a stovepiped approach to technology because they each have their own systems. He said there were 17 different missing persons databases online during Hurricane Katrina, and "we know how to fix that."
The first RhoK hackathon -- an event where programmers get together and work on creating technological solutions to a defined set of challenges -- combined coders and subject-matter experts to address IT problems related to disaster preparedness and relief.
Go to Emergency Management's Web site, to learn more about the RhoK hackathon.