The boys and girls at Ushahidi have come through again with another super useful tool for those that are tracking the efforts on the ground in Haiti. If you are deploying to Haiti, and want a quick run down of what some of the big ticket issues are, then check these various websites out along with the Ushahidi site. I have no clue if you will be able to use smart phones on the ground there, but I am sure there will be an effort to get networks up and running at full speed. Communications, to include a fat pipe for the internet, will be vital for the relief efforts.
I have not downloaded any of the mobile apps for Ushahidi, but I still recommend playing around with the app and testing it out. If you have access to wifi and have a browser on your phone, you can still visit Ushahidi Haiti that way. Knowledge is power, and this is just one more tool for trying to get some clarity out of that sea of information pouring out of the disaster. –Matt
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Our Efforts in Response to Haiti’s Earthquake
We’ve launched Haiti.Ushahidi.com
January 13, 2010
The past 20 hours have been sad, exhausting and inspiring. Sad for obvious reasons. Exhausting because many of us have been working straight through with no sleep. But inspiring because of the incredible community of Crisis Mappers.
Here’s what been happening in the community:
• Ushahidi launched a Haiti deployment
• Mikel Maron at OpenStreetMap launched this Wiki
• Andrew Turner at GeoCommons is updating CrisisCommons
• Our friends at Sahana have set up a Development Team
• Sahana has also set up a Wiki here
• Our InSTEDD friends set up a GeoChat instance
• Our friends at MapAction have deployed a team
• Einar Bjorgo at UNOSAT is keeping us posted on imagery
InSTEDD is also working on getting +46 numbers for GeoChat, the Emergency Information Service (EIS) and Ushahidi. InSTEDD is also in Santo Domingo deploying EIS. Sahana is exploring the possibility of integrating GeoChat based on some work they did at Camp Roberts a few months ago. InSTEDD is also looking to start testing a Sahana/Mesh4X sync. There are several dozen other ongoing efforts but hard to keep track.
I first heard about the major earthquake around 7:30pm (Boston time) last night and immediately called David Kobia to get an Ushahidi deployment out. I have five close friends from The Fletcher School who have been in Haiti over the past two weeks and it wasn’t until midnight that I finally got word that they were alive.
What happened between 7:30pmm and midnight was inspiring. We went live with a basic deployment within half an hour. I called Chris Blow and got in touch with Brian Herbert. They both worked with David to continue the customization.
I then reached out to our colleagues with the International Network of Crisis Mappers (CM*Net), and their response has been superb. We’ve had over 50 emails back and forth, sharing data, maps, local contact info with regular updates.
Our colleagues from UN OCHA/Colombia were invaluable in helping us identify the appropriate indicators as were many others on CM*Net. OCHA had just carried out an earthquake simulation exercise using their own customized version of Ushahidi so were fully ready to go. They worked directly on the admin side to help us push forward. So many thanks to Jeffrey Villaveces and Luis Aguilar.
At around 3am, our Nairobi team took over with customization and we had an 8am all team meeting to assess the current deployment and evolving situation in Haiti. We now have an international number up for SMS and are working with our colleagues at InSTEDD and at CM*Net to set up a local number as well.
On a personal note, it’s just been remarkable to see so many of the organizations who participated in the International Conference on Crisis Mapping (ICCM) collaborate so pro-actively together. It was also somewhat surreal when someone from Haiti signed up to CM*Net and in their bio wrote:
“I’m in Baudin, Haiti right now ( 18.307606° -72.709935°) so won’t have cell phone service until it comes back but can be reached then at 509-3-823-6859 or michael.ritter2@gmail.com.”
I quickly added Michael to the CrisisMappers Google Group and he has been providing is some valuable information since.
Link to blog here.
Ushahidi mobile apps for your smart phone here.