Disaster Relief 2.0: Tech Tools Help Focus Haiti Resources

[Eric K. Noji, M.D.]

During a large-scale humanitarian crisis, information is key. Coordination among relief agencies is essential, so that efforts are not duplicated and resources go where they are most needed.
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With collaborative tools, disaster-response teams and relief workers can identify risk zones and emerging threats more rapidly. Courtesy of a tech community “SitRep” (situational report) created and shared by Luke Beckman of the nonprofit group InSTEDD, we have some insight into how humanitarian organizations, aid groups and the military can tap information to help in the relief effort.

For instance, OpenStreetMap, a free wiki world map, offers an excellent depiction of the situation on the ground, as volunteers mark the locations of aid stations, tent camps and working hospitals. The data is available as web maps, as well as Garmin images for use in handheld GPS devices. OpenStreetMap tools are available for download.

As we noted here before, U.S. Southern Command has created a portal for civil-military coordination. In addition, the military command has a restricted, but unclassified, site for government agencies involved in the effort; it has also shared imagery from an RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drone.

Google is hosting satellite imagery files made available by GeoEye, which agreed to provide the data, free of charge, for use by relief organizations. The images were captured by the GeoEye-One satellite one day after the Jan. 12 earthquake. The files are intended for use by professionals with GIS mapping software, but readers interested in viewing the images can use the available Google Earth Haiti files.

The Crisis Commons Wiki has a great list of resources available, including situation maps, links to partner organizations on the ground, and contact info for volunteer networks at home. My favorite tool is provided by Ushahidi, which has set up an easy-to-use way to report incidents and emergencies. Incidents can be reported by sending a text to 4636 (locally), sending an e-mail to [e-mail], or sending a tweet with the hashtags #haiti or #haitiquake

According to the InSTEDD report, an open-source collaboration team is working with the State Department and a wireless operator to open up access to a public number (4636) for text messages. The SMS feed can then be routed to relief agencies that have access, and the goal right now is to get the word out to the public in Haiti.

On the more retro side: ARRL, the national association for amateur radio, has encouraged ham radio operators to be aware of the emergency operations on the following frequencies: 7.045 and 3.720 MHz (IARU Region 2 nets), 14.265, 7.265 and 3.977 MHz (SATERN nets), and 14.300 MHz (Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net). The International Radio Emergency Support Coalition is also active on EchoLink node 278173. Last week, members of the Radio Club Dominicano and Union Dominicana de Radio Aficionados crossed over to Haiti to install an emergency radio communications station and a mobile station. Not long after they arrived, however, the hams had to turn back to the Dominican Republic after their convoy was fired on.

InSTEDD was one of the first projects of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google. It was created so public health and relief workers could have access to the most up-to-the-minute information, including satellite imagery, sensor data and media reports.

Lin Wells, former Pentagon chief information officer, told Danger Room that Beckman’s SitRep reflected “exceptional capabilities assembled from volunteers, from Japan to Sri Lanka to Latin America to Northern Europe, not to mention in the U.S. and on-the-ground in Haiti.” Just a few years ago, that kind of information would have be unavailable to government or the international relief community. But thanks to collaborative efforts like InSTEDD, STAR-TIDES, Crisis Mappers and others, Wells added, we’re starting to see some results.

The challenge now, Wells said, is to “figure out how to institutionalize the approach for the long haul in Haiti, ensure these capabilities (and other prototypes) get fielded rapidly in the next contingency, wherever it may be, and apply comparable approaches to support stabilization and reconstruction in Afghanistan, and to other theaters. Lessons learned from Haiti already are being developed.”

Photo: U.S. Department of Defense