Storyboard: Episode 38 - Bonus Episode: Disaster Zone

On a recent visit to California, FEMA chief Craig Fugate's agenda read like an all-star roster of tech companies: Start the day at Twitter and Craigslist, drop by Wired at lunch, then on to visit Apple and Facebook. Why is this bureaucrat, head of the oft-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency, on a tour of the techno-elite's offices? Because he's seen that when all hell breaks loose, disaster survivors turn to social networks -- both in their neighborhoods and online. Even in the rubble of Haiti's 2010 earthquake text messaging still worked. "We're there to support the survivors," Fugate says. "They shouldn't have to fit our system, we should fit how they communicate, the tools they're using." Fugate wants to harness the power of the digital world to help the U.S. government and citizens respond to disasters. He's pushing government agencies to make their websites and their data streams freely available for whatever mashups coders can cook up. And the sharing goes both ways: When a gas pipeline exploded near San Francisco last fall, Fugate watched the situation develop on Twitter. "We don't want to innovate at the speed of government, or we'll never get there," he says.During Fugate's visit, we sat him down with Storyboard podcast host Adam Rogers to discuss FEMA's social media strategy, emergency management's coolest hashtag, and why you should be prepared at home for anything from zombies to earthquakes. "Think of yourself as part of a team," says Fugate. "Don't mooch off the weak. Do feel free to tweet about it.