[June 11, 2015] “the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched a new data visualization tool that enables users to see when and where disaster declarations have occurred across the country. As hurricane season kicks off, the tool helps provide important information about the history of hurricanes and other disasters in their communities and what residents can do to prepare. The data visualization tool is accessible at fema.gov/data-visualization and allows users to view and interact with a wide array of FEMA data. Through an interactive platform, users can view the history of disaster declarations by hazard type or year and the financial support provided to states, tribes and territories, and access public datasets for further research and analysis. On the site, you can see compelling visual representations of federal grant data as it relates to fire, preparedness, mitigation, individual assistance and public assistance. “We have a wealth of data that can be of great use to the public,” said FEMA’s Deputy Administrator of Protection and National Preparedness Tim Manning. “By providing this information in a way that is visual and easy to understand, people will be moved to action to prepare their families and communities.” The data visualization tool builds on FEMA’s commitment to transparency by making it easy to convert historical data – already available via the OpenFEMA initiative – into a readable and interactive map. Users can see the types of disasters that have occurred in their community and FEMA’s support to build and sustain the capabilities needed to prevent, protect, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from those threats and hazards in the future. The tool also provides ways for users to take action to prepare for future disasters by supporting community preparedness planning, providing information on individual preparedness actions people can take, or joining a local Citizen Corps program. FEMA encourages all individuals to interact with the tool, learn more about the emergency management process, and provide feedback. FEMA will continue to develop additional visualizations based on feedback and the availability of public data.”