Tag: DISASTER

Google has launched a 'Person Finder' app, like the ones for Haiti and Chile, whereby users can submit and find information on any friends or family in Christchurch, New Zealand, which was struck by a devastating earthquake earlier today. At the moment, Google has information on about 5,100 people, so, if you're looking for loved ones, or have information that could put others' minds at ease, ...

As state authorities struggle to effectively manage disaster relief efforts across tsunami-and-volcano-ravaged regions of Indonesia, many citizens looking for help have turned to a decidedly more instantaneous medium: Twitter. Although the country's shoddy public infrastructure has severely hampered large-scale efforts, Indonesia's digital networks remain mostly intact -- and well used. ...

As part of its ongoing relief efforts in flood-devastated Pakistan, the U.S. military has begun using social media to coordinate the disparate aid organizations in the region. But, even as many international and Pakistani developers and relief workers have latched onto social networking tools, they have yet to engage with the U.S. military online. As Wired reports, mobile apps and ...

Since it launched three years ago, Ushahidi has played an increasingly crucial role in natural disaster and crisis relief efforts by allowing citizens to report violent incidents as they happen. Whenever the open-source software receives a notification from a user, it uses data collected from text messages, news reports or the Internet to geographically map the incident in real-time. In recent ...

In anticipation of an Emergency Social Data Summit later this week in Washington, D.C., the Red Cross has released the findings of a survey (PDF link) it conducted on social networking use during a disaster. From the 1,058 self-selected respondents, some interesting figures emerged. Try to follow along as we plow through the data. Of the respondents, 72-percent use social media sites of some ...

Considering the way it comprehensively screwed the pooch during Hurricane Katrina, FEMA probably isn't the first authority most of us would consult about competent disaster response tactics. But the federal agency, determined to make sure that its future iterations don't repeat the blunders of the last one, has decided to reach out to today's youth by funding a disaster-themed, educational video ...

It seems like whenever there's a major international disaster, Twitter is there, helping disseminate information, and keeping people up to date on the latest developments. And the Gulf oil spill is certainly no exception. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is bound by law to answer every single question it ...

Share The Web is teeming with the unrealized ideas of both students and established designers who set out to produce astonishing renderings and prototypes for unusual products. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time, money, or technology, many of those products never progress from the planning stages to the mass market. But that doesn't mean we can't salivate over them, nevertheless. We've ...

Some are calling NASA's failed launch of a pair of telescopes using a balloon a "debacle" and "calamitous," but we think these outlets aren't giving the space agency the credit it deserves. These are rocket scientists after all. Perhaps, and bear with us here, turning millions of dollars in research equipment into an ad hoc wrecking ball was actually a calculated marketing ploy to capture the ...

Laura Boffi, a design student in Copenhagen, and her team have created a special jacket that allows rescue dogs to relay messages from survivors while tagging their location. According to DVICE and the video after the jump, the jacket plays music while the dog searches for a victim in the wake of an earthquake or other disaster. An accelerometer detects when the dog sits, and then, the victim can ...

With disease and untreated wounds being the largest threats to victims of the recent Haitian earthquake, doctors are struggling to provide adequate health care in the disaster zone. Clean water is scarce, electricity is unreliable, and the environment isn't sterile. But the aid group Doctors Without Borders has found a temporary solution to these problems. According to Boing Boing, the group ...

As aid pours from the coffers of international organizations and individuals, and into the earthquake-ravaged island of Haiti, some scumbag scammers are reportedly looking to take advantage of these donors, hoping to make a parasitic buck off of the tragedy. As FOX News reports, the devastating aftermath of Tuesday's massive quake has seen not only a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, but ...

Whether it be caused by a rapidly spreading virus or nuclear war, we gave you a head start on surviving the apocalypse. Those gadgets might keep your person safe, but what about your sanity? You'll need the Internet, of course. Thankfully, there's the Network Relief Kit, which, according to Make Magazine, guarantees you'll be able to check Facebook even in the event of a terrible disaster. Best of ...

What's the hottest accessory for your multi-million-dollar mansion? Televisions the size of SUVs are passé, and every one and their mother has a saltwater pool in the backyard -- why not invest in something useful, like a bomb shelter? That's right, they were all the rage during the Cold War, and now, Popular Mechanics reports that the bomb shelter biz is 'booming' once again. There's ...

What's a country without emergency sirens to do? That's the question Germany has been pondering ever since its sirens were dismantled at the end of the Cold War. The country has long used a satellite-based system that broadcasts warnings via TV and radio, but not everyone watches TV or listens to radio. So, over the years, they've considered everything from using cell phones to smoke detectors, ...