We've had several inquiries about looking at data related to the Haiti earthquake in Depiction. Our video showed how easy it is to get basic earthquake data into Depiction--and you can now view a related depiction online--but what most people are concerned about at the moment is the recovery situation.

This profile of FEMA chief Craig Fugate is very encouraging in regards to our nation's preparedness. Two things stood out to me as I read the article--specifically, the ways that Fugate's philosophy meshes very closely to ours here at Depiction. Though it came out originally a while ago, I think they are still worth noting.

First, Fugate is very big on asking "What if?":

At GlobalVoices, Aparna Ray has a two-part essay up examining the role of Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in disaster management (part 1, part 2).

Depiction is reviewed in the November edition of QST Magazine*, and we're following that up with a special offer for QST readers, and a webinar for Amateur Radio Operators.

“Howard Hanson Dam & the Green River: Depicting the Flood Risk," which was used by the Auburn Reporter a few weeks ago to supplement their reporting, continues to be used by the media.

Our recent video, “Howard Hanson Dam & the Green River: Depicting the Flood Risk," has become the most popular Howard Hanson Dam-related video on YouTube, with nearly 2,000 views. This shows the value of Depiction in communicating potential emergencies to the public, but it also shows that the public has a real interest in clear, visually communicated information about this particular situation.

Yesterday's webinar "Depicting Your Disaster: Helping Communities and Businesses Prepare" had over 200 attendees! Captain Buike did a great job of showing the various ways Depiction can be used by governments, businesses and other organizations to prepare for disasters. If you missed it, you can watch the video here.

Tomorrow we're going to cohost, along with the Everett, Washington Department of Emergency management, the Everett Office of Neighborhoods, and the Snohomish County Red Cross, a new kind of disaster preparedness event.

Using Depiction, groups of people participating in the drill will make an emergency plan for "the Johnsons," a fictional family in North Everett. Then, an 8.0 earthquake hits, and the attendees will have to make decisions for the Johnsons, to get them through the crisis safely.

Today we announced a whole slate of initiatives supporting National Preparedness Month as a coalition member. The coolest of all of these is easily our Preparedness Add-On pack, built to help communities & families prepare for disaster.

We based the add-on on the three steps for preparedness from Ready.gov. From our release: