Nearmap and New Light Technologies have deepened their collaboration to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during major natural disasters. The partnership centers on using high‑recency aerial imagery and automated workflows to speed damage assessment, coordination, and relief‑funding decisions across presidential disaster declarations.
How drones and aerial capture support disaster response
Nearmap conducts rapid aerial imagery captures across the United States following natural disasters, often flying more than 40 missions per year. In 2024 alone, the company captured over 57,000 square miles of disaster‑affected areas, delivering high‑resolution, ortho‑rectified imagery within an average of 25 hours from aircraft arrival to published imagery. This near‑real‑time property intelligence gives FEMA and its partners a consistent visual baseline before and after events, improving situational awareness when conditions are changing hour by hour.
New Light’s coordination and workflow tools ensure this imagery is integrated directly into FEMA’s operational systems as a common operating picture. Response, recovery, and search‑and‑rescue teams can then collaborate around a shared, trusted view of impacted areas, aligning field observations with overhead data. The collaboration also streamlines access to and validation of automated damage‑detection categories, reducing manual review and accelerating coordination between on‑the‑ground teams and decision‑makers.
Technical specs and operational impact
Nearmap’s platform relies on its own patented camera systems, AI‑driven analytics, and cloud‑based SaaS tools to deliver consistent, high‑resolution imagery of urban areas in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand multiple times per year. Imagery is available via web app or API, enabling FEMA to task Nearmap within defined coverage areas under a new enterprise agreement and bypass one‑off contracting delays during active events.
FEMA uses Nearmap imagery to validate and catalog damage classifications across affected properties, a critical input for presidential disaster declarations and subsequent relief‑funding decisions. By enabling faster, more consistent damage validation, the Nearmap and New Light collaboration helps accelerate the release of disaster relief funding, with funds available in as little as 72 hours after validation. The companies will discuss their joint workflows at the Esri Federal User Conference on February 10–11, 2026.
More information about Nearmap is available from their website. More information about New Light Technologies is available from their website.
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Ian McNabb is a journalist focusing on drone technology and lifestyle content at Dronelife. He is based between Boston and NH and, when not writing, enjoys hiking and Boston area sports.
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