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Hurricane Katrina: The Role of GIS Volunteers
posted by Satri
on Friday September 23, @09:13AM
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from the hurricane-and-gis-soup dept.
from the hurricane-and-gis-soup dept.
GIS Monitor is running a story about the role of GIS volunteers regarding events tied to hurricane Katrina. From the article: «For Brooks, perhaps the most important lesson regarding GIS from this experience is that "it must be a part of the plan before the disaster happens, because it became a pretty key element and has grown since." ».
Related Stories
Geomatics in Jamaica
[+]
Nicolas Gignac writes "I am a Canadian cooperant/volunteer working as GIS Development Officer at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management in Kingston, Jamaica (from May 2005 to 2007).
Based on my own observation and interview, I have written an article about certain key elements of the development of geomatics in Jamaica. If you are interested for opportunity of cooperation or business development in Jamaica, see this web link for more information (PDF document)."
Technology: GIS in New Orleans Reconstruction
[+]
All Points Blog links to a ComputerWorld article on IT and GIS in the reconstruction of New Orleans in the post-Katrina era. From the article: "The GIS data, which can be accessed from a Web-based user interface, lets city officials easily see where reconstruction activity is the strongest, based on factors such as the number of building permits being issued, Kurt said. He added that workers can also view information about the number of calls for city services, such as requests for street maintenance -- which gives them an indication of where people are living."
ReliefWeb and GeoEye Foundation: Maps and Data for Humanitarian Emergencies and Disasters 1 comment
[+]
I recently rediscovered ReliefWeb, which provides maps for humanitarian emergencies and disasters. Several maps are published every day. From their about: "ReliefWeb is the world’s leading on-line gateway to information (documents and maps) on humanitarian emergencies and disasters. An independent vehicle of information, designed specifically to assist the international humanitarian community in effective delivery of emergency assistance, it provides timely, reliable and relevant information as events unfold, while emphasizing the coverage of "forgotten emergencies" at the same time." Closely related, the GeoCarta blog tells us GeoEye has formed a non-profit organization to give away satellite imagery for educational and humanitarian uses. Use Here's the press release.
Industry: Google Shows Pre-Katrina Photos for New Orleans 1 comment
[+]
Several blogs discuss the introduction of pre-Katrina photos for New Orleans in Google Earth and Google Maps. From the Google Earth Blog: "The previous imagery was directly after the storm struck, and was of inferior quality. Although the imagery of New Orleans is from pre-Katrina now, it is of better quality. If you have the Plus or Pro version of Google Earth you have the option to load two sets of post-Katrina imagery by logging out of the primary database." See also this entry from The Map Room and the Slashdot's discussion. The Earth is Square tells us NASA World Wind still has the old imagery. Update: 04/03 14:05 GMT by S : Google now updated their data: "In other words, Google Earth has just updated its imagery for New Orleans following a hue and cry after it became widely noticed that the existing imagery in the default layer was from before hurricane Katrina."
Technology: GISCorps Update and Existing Similar Initiatives?
[+]
Over two years ago we mentioned the GISCorps program. My question for you is if you're aware of similar initiatives elsewhere in the world? A colleague informed me about the Geomatique: Projets sans frontieres association (Geomatics: projects without borders) at Laval University, Canada, but is there more? Meanwhile, the GISCorps seems to successfully attract enthusiasts, from their website:
"A program of the Urban and Regional Information
Systems Association (URISA),
GISCorps coordinates short term, volunteer GIS services to
underprivileged communities
worldwide. Our services support
humanitarian relief, community development, local capacity building,
health and education.
GISCorps is run by a
Core Committee
who e-meet monthly but e-communicate daily.
As of February 2008, GISCorps counts over 1,195 enlisted volunteers. They reside in 63 countries
over five continents and are natives of 72 countries. The US volunteers
come from 50 states. To date GISCorps has implemented 30 missions
around the globe, deployed 77 volunteers who have contributed over 5,500 working hours."
Mapping Services for Humanitarian Organisations
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The Baliz blog made aware of CartONG, a French NGO offering mapping services for humanitarian organizations. From their website: "Information Management as a discipline, is widely misunderstood, and under-utilised. It is not often shown to the mass media and is consequently under-reported. Many operational NGOs do not know the benefits formal information management could offer to displaced people. Little funding is channelled to mapping and Geographic Information Systems. Though it is not very visible, it can make huge contributions to humanitarian operations." Slashgeo covered mapping and humanitarian projects a few times in the past, especially on this story about GISCorps, see previous stories below.
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Hurricane Katrina: The Role of GIS Volunteers
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Disaster assistance GIS
(Score:2, Informative)