Cellphones made it harder for Denver's 911 call takers to track people down. Finally, that's starting to change.

The city of Houston is changing its approach to measuring the full scope of damage from Hurricane Harvey so it can get help where it is most needed and improve future flood mitigation. Using data from numerous sources, Civis Analytics found unmet housing needs were far greater than initially recorded and low-income areas were hit disproportionately harder, even though recovery funding often goes to areas with higher housing values. Now city officials are working to implement solutions based on the data in order to allocate limited funds where they will be most effective.

In Nashua, New Hampshire, a city-run program known as Safe Station connects people who are seeking help with addiction to health-care resources, including emergency medical services, transportation, and support groups. Although a change in funding could impact the program's future, in the time that it has been operating, thousands of people have sought treatment and the city has seen a significant decrease in opioid overdoses.

Bringing data analysis technology into post-disaster scenarios can improve methods of allocating funding for disaster relief and reconstruction projects. The UN and Microsoft have partnered to develop the Building Damage Assessment app. Teams on the ground can use the software package to collect and analyze data, which can then be easily disseminated and shared with policymakers.

Illegal fishing is a grave concern that not only threatens to destroy the ocean's ecosystem but the livelihoods of billions of people around the world who depend on stable fish populations for food. Now, software developed in a partnership between Vulcan - a private Seattle-based tech firm - and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization allows law enforcement to quickly analyze suspicious patterns from the transponders of thousands of ships at a time, using special algorithms that automatically detect is a ship is a high-risk for criminal activity.

Whenever there’s a natural catastrophe, a team of “crisis mappers” activate around the world. These volunteers use crowdsourcing tools to turn satellite data into digital maps, which are then used to make decisions on the ground, enabling rescuers to deliver food, shelter, and supplies to areas that need them most.

A partnership between Facebook and the Ministry of Health in Kenya has helped connect blood banks with blood donors. The process uses artificial intelligence and geo-location data to notify Facebook users who have signed up as blood donors when blood banks in their area are in need of donations.

A space-based initiative called Global Fishing Watch is using satellite imagery and data to hold companies accountable to their promise of providing sustainable sourced seafood. While the volume of data and cost of obtaining it can be a challenge, the organization has partnered with key collaborators to help with the effort. Countries like Indonesia and Panama are working with them to stop illegal fishing.

In a statewide, multi-business effort, California is working to identify a way to use technology to intervene in mental crises through the use of psychiatric apps. Acting as an early warning system, the piloting of these apps has allowed for collaboration between state officials, the app engineers and the users themselves.

Colorado is adapting a military technology to help crews fight wildfires. The Android Team Awareness Kit, or ATAK, was designed to keep Special Forces safe in combat zones by showing pilots their locations, and now firefighters will be able to use the free app on their phones to find where they are and assess what kind of fire they are seeing on the ground. Colorado is the only state allowed to tweak the app for use in fires, but the plan is to roll it out nationwide after modification.

Police in Ensenada, Mexico, have been using drones since October 2017 and it has led to more than 500 arrests and a 10 percent drop in crime. The drones have fostered faster response times and help police decide how to allocate resources appropriately, while highlighting risks before officers approach a property. Officials in Chula Vista, Calif., are working with the same drone company to start a similar program, which could prompt changes in federal policies on using drones in the U.S.