When your community is in crisis, there is no such thing as being too prepared. From understanding the demographics of those impacted to available shelters and supply lines, it pays to have a plan.
Project: Ptolemy is a disaster management platform that aims to benefit the community in all phases of the disaster management continuum: planning, response, and recovery. Of these, the most crucial is planning. Understanding where your community is vulnerable in advance of any crisis empowers first responders, informs recovery efforts, and — most importantly — saves lives.
The team behind Project: Ptolemy works every day to amass and curate as much global demographic data as possible. Demographic information is key to any response effort: it's important to determine vulnerable populations within a community, such as children, the elderly, or the disabled.
For disasters in the United States, Project: Ptolemy has models and standards built into the platform for determining impacted populations, drawn from agencies such as the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Even the most basic scenario can identify concentrations of the most vulnerable individuals. We use these tested, proven models — based on U.S. Census data and the American Community Survey — to determine not just demographics, but also key planning information such as where translators might be required or where evacuation assistance is most likely needed.
We also use models verified in the emergency management community to predict shelter needs and the comprehensive supply needs of an impacted population.
About New Light Technologies
New Light Technologies (NLT) is a Washington, DC-based firm with 25+ years of experience delivering:
- Geospatial systems and enterprise GIS
- Cloud-native data platforms
- AI/ML and advanced analytics
- DevSecOps and cybersecurity solutions
NLT supports federal, state, and international organizations in operationalizing data for mission impact.