Faster, Smarter Disaster Relief: How LA County Used AI & Geospatial Mapping to Deliver $20M in Aid

Disaster response demands speed, coordination, and accessible tools to reach communities when they need it most. When wildfires struck LA County, officials launched two major relief programs in just two weeks - delivering $2,000 grants to impacted workers and up to $25,000 to affected businesses.

This session explores how LA County partnered with AidKit to deploy:

• Geospatial mapping to visualize impact zones, inform prioritization, and drive a tenfold increase in available funds—from $2M to $20M
• Application intake tools built for rapid deployment and designed to meet residents where they are, even in low-connectivity or high-stress situations
• AI-assisted identity and document verification to flag fraud risks while validating applicants who may lack conventional ID
• An integrated platform for disaster recovery center and applicant support that enabled real-time coordination and reduced case management workload
• Cross-agency collaboration and public-private partnerships that streamlined service delivery and scaled response with minimal administrative overhead

Geospatial mapping played a particularly transformative role—enabling needs assessment, outreach, and damage verification directly tied to the County’s tiered prioritization strategy. It also allowed inspectors to collect field data directly, easing the burden on applicants and strengthening program integrity.

You’ll also gain insights into how LA County used AI to balance fraud prevention with equitable access, and how collaboration across agencies and sectors expanded capacity without slowing down delivery.

Key Takeaways:

• Strategies for incorporating geospatial technology in disaster planning and response.
• Techniques for using identity verification tools to balance security and accessibility.
• Best practices for building public-private partnerships in times of crisis.
• Approaches for rapidly delivering emergency cash relief by integrating on-the-ground community services with virtual technical assistance to ensure culturally responsive and comprehensive outreach.

Join LA County's Department of Economic Opportunity and AidKit to explore actionable strategies and replicable tech solutions that can strengthen your jurisdiction's readiness for future crises.