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What Is Happening on the Planet — Anywhere!

Getting information on your jurisdiction from space.

There is a relatively new tool out there called Planet.

They describe themselves: "Planet started as a small team of physicists and engineers, and now operates the world’s largest constellation of Earth-imaging satellites. We offer our customers a diverse selection of 3-meter, 5-meter, and 80-centimeter data products, all under one roof.

From precision agriculture and emergency response to supply chain and infrastructure monitoring, we believe that timely, global imagery and analytics will empower informed, deliberate, and meaningful stewardship of our planet."
 
Emergency managers want all the information they can get at the time of a disaster. The above would be a great tool to give you those before and after pictures, along with information on damages to help with allocating resources during the emergency. These pictures would be terrific for getting a presidential disaster declaration if your disaster is not playing on national media. Pre- and post-mitigation efforts could also benefit. 
 
Then there is the question of cost. These services are not free. If I get additional information, I'll list it here, but most likely your best bet is contacting them directly. Some questions to ask:
  • How fast can you respond?
  • Do I need a contract in advance of the emergency?
  • Is there a "sliding scale for pricing" for jurisdictions based on size?
  • What is the price range for your different services?
For emergency managers, you might try teaming up, for cost-sharing purposes, with other departments that would be interested in these services on a routine basis. 

  • Public Works
  • Development agencies
  • Housing authorities
  • Flood control agencies
  • Transportation agencies
  • Building/plan review departments
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.