Disaster assistance delivery - even with the very best of intentions - faces huge challenges.
Whether government, charitable organizations or insurance companies -making sense out of a disaster situation is a significant challenge.
Especially in the age of AI where questionable players and outright frauds make every effort to steal from the actual disaster survivors! Every minute and every dollar a fraudster takes is at the direct expense of true survivors.
When a disaster strikes people and losses must be verified:
Who suffered damage?
What caused the damage?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
Why did it happen?
and in some cases it helps to be able to share How it happened.
That’s why we created DisasterTrack.
Why DisasterTrack?
Although our team includes personnel from both the Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance program and FEMA’s disaster programs we are very proud of our service and the goals of the programs we worked within - the fact of the matter is - things could be done a whole lot better.
DisasterTrack was created so disaster victims from individual home owners, renters, and small business owners through to cities, counties/parishes, and state emergency service can be served better.
We understand the pain points, we know the programs, we recognize both the challenges and opportunities that the current programs present and we are here to do our best to help you work with those programs and when appropriate bypass those programs and reach out directly to the officials who hold the power to actually help.
We look forward to serving you.
DisasterTracks Expertise?
Although our team includes personnel from both the Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance program and FEMA’s disaster programs we are very proud of our service and the goals of the programs we worked within - the fact of the matter is - things could be done a whole lot better.
DisasterTrack was created so disaster victims from individual home owners, renters, and small business owners through to cities, counties/parishes, and state emergency service can be served better.
We understand the pain points, we know the programs, we recognize both the challenges and opportunities that the current programs present and we are here to do our best to help you work with those programs and when appropriate bypass those programs and reach out directly to the officials who hold the power to actually help.
We look forward to serving you.
Why Post-Disaster Aid Stalls
As a former federal disaster official and insurance investigator I know the ugly truth about the disaster recovery system:
It is reactive, paperwork-heavy, subject to extreme mismanagement and bureaucratic manipulation and deeply vulnerable to exploitation.
When a major catastrophe strikes thousands of reports can pour in simultaneously. Government disaster officials and insurance companies must verify two critical factors before distributing a single dime:
Identity & Ownership: Are you exactly who you say you are and was your property destroyed by the disaster?
Pre-Disaster Condition: What has been damaged by the disaster?
Because survivors have just gone through a disaster…paperwork isn’t top of mind! Very understandably! Going through the verification process can take weeks, months - sometimes even longer. Meanwhile, fraudulent claims can swamp the system, forcing agencies to slow down even more. The real survivors can end up paying the price in seemingly “endless” delays.
Federal Response: Routinely, when a disaster strikes local government has to reach out to the State government who in turn reaches out to the Federal Government. Then Federal PDA teams are sent out to physically walk the disaster area, see the damages, then report the damages up the government chain until it is finally delivered to the President who makes the decision on a Disaster Declaration. This process always takes days - just to get the boots on the ground - then it often takes weeks even months before a decision is made.
Together we can do better!
Why DisasterTrack?
Although our team includes personnel from both the Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance program and FEMA’s disaster programs we are very proud of our service and the goals of the programs we worked within - the fact of the matter is - things could be done a whole lot better.
DisasterTrack was created so disaster victims from individual home owners, renters, and small business owners through to cities, counties/parishes, and state emergency service can be served better.
We understand the pain points, we know the programs, we recognize both the challenges and opportunities that the current programs present and we are here to do our best to help you work with those programs and when appropriate bypass those programs and reach out directly to the officials who hold the power to actually help.
We look forward to serving you.
DisasterTracks Expertise?
Although our team includes personnel from both the Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance program and FEMA’s disaster programs we are very proud of our service and the goals of the programs we worked within - the fact of the matter is - things could be done a whole lot better.
DisasterTrack was created so disaster victims from individual home owners, renters, and small business owners through to cities, counties/parishes, and state emergency service can be served better.
We understand the pain points, we know the programs, we recognize both the challenges and opportunities that the current programs present and we are here to do our best to help you work with those programs and when appropriate bypass those programs and reach out directly to the officials who hold the power to actually help.
Together we can do better!
Thank you for your interest in this program.
DisasterTrack was created because of the following recognized needs:
Very few people make preparations
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The following section was created with the idea of identifying what DisasterTrack does and how it does it. It’s okay as first attempt, but will need to be reviewed and re-written.
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DisasterTrack is about helping disaster survivors before, during, and after a disaster strikes...
…from the disaster survivors point of view.
How you can prepare, what to do during the disaster, and how to recover.
Empowering disaster survivors!
Taking action now goes a long way - should disaster strike.
People prefer people!
Enabling a human to human connection.
DisasterTrack understands exactly what it means to be a disaster survivor. And the challenges, roadblocks, and issues that can be so infuriatingly frustrating! We strive to help sort through the red tape and help disaster survivors get the assistance they deserve in the most efficient way possible.
Verification - matters.
The biggest hurdle for anyone attempting to assist disaster survivors is the ability to accurately verify who the disaster survivors are, where they are, and what they lost.
Baseline verification
DisasterTrack calls this a “baseline verification.” Swift and accurate verification is critical to getting disaster survivors the assistance they need in a timely manner. Our streamlined verification process, preferably completed before a disaster strikes, can dramatically improve the time required for governmental decision making. We work with survivor smart device technology and offer highly efficient person-to-person communications maximize communications at all levels. Thus, offering methods of accomplishing these critical tasks and doing it in a fully encrypted and completely secure manner that is simply not possible with any other system that were are aware of. And importantly, DisasterTrack uses only the information it needs to verify each disaster survivor and then deletes all information our clients do not specifically ask us to retain on their behalf.
Together we can do better!
DisasterTrack does have to make a living, just like everyone else. Let’s say we can get 10% of the home owners in the coastal states and US territories to sign up with the program over the next 4 years. Right now we are estimating that at about 30 million homeowners. If they go with the lowest subscription we currently plan to offer we would be looking at just under $15,000,000 a year by the close of 2030. At $14.97 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (3 million subscribers x $4.99/year), the company’s valuation would range from a conservative low of $45 million to a much more likely “Standard Growth” of $75 million. This of course, does not include home renters or small businesses or HOA’s and other non-profits. If we add only small businesses and again figure 4 year period with an ultimate 10% adoption rate and the fact that there are over 11 million small businesses in the coastal states and US territories (1 million x $24.99/year at our lowest base subscription rate) that would add just over $60 million. That would likely mean a company valuation in 2030 of $225 million.
DisasterTrack for the consumer, without any government, insurance company, grants or other funding would be self supporting. And we expect that we will be able to operate the company with all of the personnel working remotely and at or below 70 full time people, with a rapidly deployable reserve of 500 people. Current estimates are that the cost of operations for the program would be well below $30 million thus creating a profitability that would allow us to consider crowdsourcing, or a large organization partnership (Google, Apple, Amazon, Starlink, etc.).
Other forms of revenue. The above does not include the other forms of revenue that DT would be bringing in from its direct representative disaster loan services, realtime and historical mapping programs, nor does it take into consideration any of the federal, state and private grant programs that DT would definitely qualify for (considering chat support personnel being drawn from the VA helping burn victims, physically challenged people, the hearing impaired, or considering our robust language online chat system that currently allows for the immediate communications with disaster survivors using over 100 languages and our tribal/indigenous language and special coordination programs; or our sign language programs).
DisasterTrack’sconcepts are designed to be able to assist SBA with the near real-time verification of actual damages down to the individual survivor and offer that verified documentation directly to SBA. Further our online chat operationswould be able to handle “disaster surge” load inquiries from at twice or three times the efficiency of the current SBA Customer Service Center and do so on a 24/7 basis (500 persons in our online chat staffing given a major disaster requiring that level of support - with 100 online at any given time through the peak disaster response period). Current projections would be that we could bring our ready reserve members online within 6 hours of a major disaster. Using the efficiencies of online chat and fully integrated remote operations program we know that we would be able to scale up to much larger support numbers should the country run into a situation like it was in during COVID. Further, we would be able to consider expanding our service operations onto an international platform to address disasters globally.
With PDA’s DisasterTracksystems will allow for all PDA’s to be effectively and efficiently handled remotely by federal, state and local government PDA teams working remotely - each from their own office/center environment. This would radically increase both PDA response/survey ability to respond and also to extend reporting timelines given that personnel are not deployed to the field. The accompanying reduction all of costs associated with personnel, management, travel, lodging, etc are self evident. When it comes to PDA’s remote area’s this improvement is even greater as in Alaska, the Islands and Territories, etc. The clear advantages of DisasterTrackprograms are simply overwhelming.
DisasterTrack would further be able to put highly qualified boots-on-the-ground with partnering personnel from local emergency service organizations and personnel who would be part of our routine quarterly training and team building drills and programs throughout all 50 states and US territories. Given their uniform training and coordination they would be able to
DisasterTrackPartners - we expect that Apple would be amenible to allowing text only operations through they existing iphone satelite capabilities and/or we would be able to work with Starlink on the staging of units in all remote territories and through Amazon’s existing worldwide disaster distribution program. We further expect to be able to work with a number of companies including TractorSupply on the staging of disaster related communications and power generation equipment using their existing network of store locations throughout the US.
DisasterTrack will always focus its resources on actual disaster survivor interaction and support, never management, political considerations- or other partisan or financial concerns. We put our resources where the disaster survivor can access them as immediately and efficiently as humanly possible. And DisasterTrack will have the resources to be there through with the full recovery process no matter how long it takes.
DisasterTrack would never acknowledge any governmental or commercially instituted artificial disaster application timeline or expiration.
Literally everything about DisasterTrack is focused on how it affects and supports disaster survivors while blocking fraud.
BUT….and this is really a Big BUT, we have to establish a business that people trust and one that deserves that trust.
A business that doesn’t become just another source of privacy intrusion or invasive and predatory information gathering. AND I believe that establishing a highly cooperative relationship with SBA both DVC and PDC personnel is really important. Not required, but if it can happen it would be super beneficial for each and every disaster survivor.
Please let me know your thoughts, challenges, constructive criticism, options, etc.
And if there is someone or group out there that is doing this or can do this and will do this, then by all means let me know I will do everything I can to promote them.
Thanks,
Steve