HumaniNet's GIS and Disaster Preparedness Exercise

This is an interesting writeup of a disaster preparedness exercise in Portland where a team of volunteer geographers created an interactive up-to-date Google Map/Google Earth map of infrastructure status updates (collapsed bridges, functional hospitals, etc.) while working alongside the local emergency management authorities.  Apparently local status reports were sent via Internet to online mappers outside the affected area - these volunteers created maps which were then communicated back to local responders.  Assuming your hypothetical 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami don't cut off all of your communications, this is a pretty interesting idea (the project was apparently using portable satellite connections to compensate for this?).