Crisis Mapping

 

“We are not moving concrete or water but we are delivering situational awareness.”

Mobilizing immediately after earthquake, professional (fb) and volunteer emergency mappers (aided by instantly released satellite imagery and the structure of the OpenStreetMap project)  came together in impromptu “Crisis Camps” rushed to meet the need for information on missing persons, roads, emergencies calls, existing infrastructure, damage, and now internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps.

Also of note is the emerging field of crisis communications operating at the intersection of disasters and emergency communications, that has integrated social media like twitter into its applications to aid survivors, first responders as well as facilitating emergency group communication tools.

Crisis Commons itself has used Project EPIC’s Tweak the Tweet project which attempts to aggregate and pass on spatially tagged emergency-related information from available food, water, to missing or trapped persons.

Maps! Current OpenStreetMap Haiti Map Files

NOAA Satellite Imagery from Esri

Sahana foundations: mapping client.

Compare Google Maps with OpemStreetMap Tiles.