What would happen if there was an Earthquake? How many buildings and bridges will be damaged and how many casualties to expect? All this can be estimated a bit easier now with InLET , a web based GIS application which uses Microsoft Virtual Earth . Chris Pendleton writes: Earthquake damage assessment just got a little easier. In the spirit of the close of the ESRI User Conference , I figured it was appropriate to post a little something about a GIS application using Microsoft Virtual Earth - enter Inlet (Internet-based Loss Estimation Tool) - okay, my post name is unoriginal. Inlet is a web-based loss estimation and transportation modeling platform used to evaluate whether Information Technology (IT) solutions can reduce the impacts of disasters on transportation systems. According to the site , "INLET currently incorporates GIS, a risk model, and a transportation model to provide online estimates for building damage, transportation impacts, and casualties. Additional features include a demonstration of a model simulating the effect of IT on evacuation routing. Specifically, the model illustrates how awareness of a disaster scenario and familiarity with routing alternatives can impact traffic congestion and evacuation time." On his blog Chris demonstrates how this works by blowing up Santa Clarita CA , where he went to High School. Rough time at school I guess… The site currently only works for California. Besides custom scenarios ...