Post-storm crisis mapping

With students from around the world, the Fletcher community acts quickly in response to regional disasters.  Since Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda struck the Philippines, students have started to organize fund-raising activities, and I’m sure we’ll have details on their plans this week.

Meanwhile, readers might be interested in the work of a graduate of Fletcher’s PhD program, Patrick Meier.  Through a current student, Patrick sent this message to the community over the weekend:

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs just activated the Digital Humanitarian Network (DHN) in response to Typhoon Yolanda, which has already been described as possibly one of the strongest Category 5 storms in history.  The Standby Volunteer Task Force (SBTF) was in turn activated by the DHN to carry out a rapid needs and damage assessment by tagging reports posted to social media.  So colleagues and I have launched MicroMappers in partnership with the SBTF to micro-task the tagging of tweets.  We need all the help we can get given the volume we’ve collected (and are continuing to collect).  This is where you come in!

In short, Patrick is part of team that is calling on individuals to monitor posts to social media as a means of determining where need is greatest in typhoon-struck areas of the Philippines.  He has asked Fletcher students to jump in and help.  Blog readers are also invited to be part of this effort.  Details , as well as a live crisis map, can be found on Patrick’s blog.