GPS and Disaster Relief

http://www.knightfoundation.org/news/press_room/knight_press_releases/detai=
l.dot?id=3D377001

4.4 MB PDF file:

http://www.knightfoundation.org/research_publications/2011-01-haiti/KF_Hait=
i_Report_English.pdf

"U.S. Air Force Col. Lee Harvis, the chief medical officer who landed
in Port-au-Prince 36 hours after the earthquake. . . , reports that
his team initially relied on GPS coordinates provided by the U.S.
Embassy, all of which were incorrect. (He finally asked a Haitian to
ride a motorcycle through the city and remap the coordinates to locate
medical facilities and rescue sites)."

The report describes the use of Ushahidi, a crowd-sourced mapping
tool:

http://www.ushahidi.com/

Generating the maps is very labor intensive, as described below.

http://wiki.rhok.org/Ushahidi_Tagging_Plugin

"The problem is an old problem when dealing with the Ushahidi
platform. If you are working in a large group you have different teams
working on the list of messages coming in: SMS, e-mails, Twits and so
on. In emergency setting we have experienced that the best way is to
have at least a team of people looking for the GPS coordinates and
another team that categorize and create the reports. In addition to
that, in some cases there may be a Translators team that needs to see
all the reports and translate them.

The result is that you may have different people that work on the same
report and till now we have dealt with this issue by exporting the
messages on a Google spreadsheet where the GPS team was looking for
the GPS coordinates, in the same time the Translation team was
checking the translation and the Mapping Team was taking the report
completed in the end and create a report inside the Ushahidi
Platform."

http://cultureandcommunication.org/tdm/s10/02/16/ushahidi-haiti-a-revolutio=
nary-tool-for-crisis-relief-response/

"Although 35% of the Haitian population have mobile phones, most
devices don=92t have fancy GPS features. Each incoming messages must
therefore be manually located; not an easy task as one volunteer
recounts. If the address is unclear, Ushahidi members text back for
more information, or communicate with other volunteers in chat rooms
or on skype."

http://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2010/01/31/from-rubble/

"I=92ve been on the SMS mapping team for one week, now. That means I go
through text messages from Haiti, translated into English by Creole-
speaking volunteers, and find GPS coordinates that people on the
ground can use.

The very first day, I worked on my first SMS-based report for over 45
minutes. Eventually I had to give up. I couldn=92t find a location based
on the message because there wasn=92t enough information. When I asked a
more experienced volunteer for help, she said, =93It turns out that way
sometimes.=94 She told me not to get discouraged, to focus on the
messages that provide enough information to pin down a location.

Even when you get street names and landmarks, though, it=92s
challenging: many areas in Haiti lack street labels on the maps, and
some places are called by more than one name. Some place names are
common, so I might end up with looking at fifteen places called Bel
Air, scattered across the country. Sometimes, names are misspelled in
the text message and I end up having to guess. Is the text message
directing me to Rue Dupuy indicating a place called Rue Depuy, Dupuis,
or Rue du Pais?

Finding coordinates is like puzzle solving, combining experience, a
little creativity and a lot of raw determination. It=92s an amazing
feeling every time I manage to track down precise coordinates. On a
very basic level, it means that one person=92s call for help didn=92t go
unheard. We haven=92t let them fall by the wayside. Over and over I get
confirmation that our system is working. We really do improve the
chances of people trying to stay alive. The messages of gratitude and
encouragement help offset the emotional impact of the job."

The same tools are now being applied to flood relief in Australia:

http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2011/01/13/3112261.htm

http://queenslandfloods.crowdmap.com/page/index/1