When disaster strikes, emergency leaders need to answer three urgent questions: What happened? Where did it happen? And how severe is it? In this episode of DisasterClass, Jason Perez and Jason “Pappy” Martin speak with David Tobias, Chief Product Officer at Nearmap, about how high-resolution aerial imagery, property intelligence, and artificial intelligence can support emergency preparedness, disaster response, and recovery. David explains why the first 72 hours matter, how outdated information can create outdated assumptions, and why technology only becomes operational when organizations have the people, access, authority, workflows, and training needed to act under pressure. The conversation explores how aerial intelligence can help emergency leaders determine what changed, identify where damage is concentrated, evaluate access routes, prioritize limited resources, and establish a clearer operating picture following an incident. The episode also examines organizational data silos, explainable artificial intelligence, human judgment, realistic exercises, and why emergency capabilities must be established before the disaster begins. IN THIS EPISODE • The three questions that drive disaster resource allocation • Why current aerial imagery matters before and after an incident • How development and infrastructure changes alter community risk • Flood maps, changing conditions, and false certainty • Post-disaster damage assessment following the Palisades fire • Organizational silos and the shared operating picture • Explainable AI and the “glass box” • Why AI should support—not replace—human judgment • Why realistic exercises create operational muscle memory • Why preparedness must happen before the pressure CHAPTERS 00:00 The first resource-allocation question 01:05 What changed? 01:32 Meet David Tobias of Nearmap 02:11 Disaster response begins with incomplete information 05:30 Why the first 72 hours matter 07:48 Seeing how a community has changed 09:57 Flood maps and false certainty 12:05 The Palisades fire: From imagery to human impact 15:45 The organizational silo problem 18:02 Readiness is a system 19:05 Explainable AI and the “glass box” 21:23 AI should support human judgment 24:03 Why you cannot wait for the disaster 26:11 The preparedness takeaway 27:26 What Nearmap does 29:09 Final lessons and organizational readiness ABOUT OUR GUEST David Tobias is the Chief Product Officer at Nearmap. Nearmap provides aerial imagery, location intelligence, and property-level information that can help organizations understand changes in the built environment and support planning, response, recovery, and risk-related decisions. Learn more about Nearmap:https://www.nearmap.com Explore Nearmap Disaster Insights:https://www.nearmap.com/products/disaster-insights HOW READY IS YOUR ORGANIZATION? Emergency readiness is not simply having a plan, technology platform, or policy on paper. Readiness depends on whether people understand their roles, information can move across departments, leaders have the authority to act, and systems have been tested before an emergency occurs. The Instinct Ready Organizational Readiness Snapshot helps organizations identify gaps, priorities, and practical next steps across emergency planning, training, communication, coordination, decision-making, and emergency-management capability. Learn more:https://www.instinctready.com/organizational-readiness-snapshot SPONSORS AND PARTNERS STOP THE BLEED® COALITION Severe bleeding can become life-threatening quickly, but ordinary people can learn practical actions that may help before professional responders arrive. The STOP THE BLEED® Coalition supports bleeding-control education, training, resources, and community preparedness. Find training and resources:https://www.stopthebleedcoalition.org INSTINCT READY DisasterClass is brought to you by Instinct Ready Emergency Management. Instinct Ready helps people, organizations, and communities prepare for emergencies through professional emergency-management consulting, practical training, organizational-readiness services, and preparedness products. Use code DISASTERCLASS for 10% off eligible preparedness-product purchases. https://www.instinctready.com (845) 244-6360 ABOUT DISASTERCLASS DisasterClass makes preparedness practical through expert interviews, real-world lessons, and emergency-management insight. The show explores what works, what fails, and what people and organizations can do now to become more capable, prepared, and resilient. Thanks for listening! Please remember to follow the show, leave us a review, and share this episode with someone else who should hear it. To learn more about our services, visit InstinctReady.com. DisasterClass is brought to you by Instinct Ready Emergency Management and is directed, edited, and produced by Jason Perez. Copyright 2026 Instinct Ready Incorporated. All rights reserved.
