Advanced, interactive, 3D visual models of harbors developed by Harris Corporation for the U.S. government were used by state agencies and various news organizations to alert the public of the potential catastrophic impact of Hurricane Ike's storm surge. As the massive storm approached land, screen shots of Harris HarborView 3D models and visualizations of Galveston, Texas City, Corpus Christi and the Houston Ship Channel were released to various national media outlets to help them warn residents of the storm's potentially life-threatening impact. The screen shots graphically depicted the predictive results of several possible tidal surges ranging from 3 to 15 feet above sea level. Harris developed the models as part of the nearly 500 global 3D HarborView models the company has produced during the past five years as a prime contractor for the U.S. government's global geospatial mapping and charting services. HarborView blends Harris visualization software and production processes to render 3D models that integrate 2D, 3D and satellite imagery data. The visualization application provides sophisticated analysis and measurement tools, including a 3D tidal surge feature that allows users to interactively raise or lower the predicted water level of the HarborView model. This simulated tidal surge quickly shows which areas may be at risk for flooding and how far inland an estimated tidal surge could reach. HarborView is part of Harris Corporation's RealSite Harbor product family that uses varying resolution imagery and LiDAR data sources for 3D modeling, visualization and analysis of seaports and harbors around the globe. RealSite Harbor models provide accurate, highly detailed representations for a wide variety of applications ranging from operations management and navigation safety to security planning, threat detection, disaster response and environmental planning. "By providing a 3D graphical representation of the possible effects of a tidal surge, HarborView helped ensure that the public was fully informed of the serious dangers posed by Ike and, we hope, motivated some to evacuate and seek shelter away from the surge areas," said Sheldon Fox, president of National Intelligence Programs for Harris Government Communications Systems. Harris National Intelligence Programs is a major developer, supplier and integrator of communications and information processing products, systems, and networks for a diverse base of Intelligence Community programs. Harris supports the ongoing transformation of the Intelligence Community into a more collaborative enterprise.