This past month has seen a number of natural disasters, notably Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and the tornadoes that swept through the Midwest this past weekend. Nothing can make us feel more helpless than a natural disaster and its aftermath. While there is no technology at present to prevent these things from happening, technology can be helpful for natural disaster awareness, communication and aid.
Natural Disaster Awareness
2013 U.S. Preparedness Map – Emergency plans affect everyone, but especially children. As a child growing up in West Texas, I vividly recall tornado drills being practiced in the hallways of my elementary school. Natural disaster plans and preparation have grown more sophisticated since then, and Save the Children has created a U.S. Preparedness Map highlighting each state’s emergency plans and how they affect your children (as part of their Get Ready, Get Safe initiative).
Red Cross Apps – The Red Cross has embraced technology through the years, and offer several apps to download to help be aware of possible natural disasters, as well as what to do when disaster strikes. Some of the most notable apps that you will want to consider downloading are their: Earthquake App, Tornado Warning App, Hurricane Tracking App and Wildfire Alert App. All are both Android and iOS available and compatible.
Emergency Alert Systems – Have you had your cell phone scare you with a new, loud noise before or during a natural disaster recently? Chances are good it was part of a Emergency Alert System. More and more localities are embracing this technology, which enables officials to push emergency alerts to your smart phones via email, SMS and MMS technology (usually accompanied by a loud warning tone!). If you don’t have this in your area, search your local government websites to see if there are any email or SMS alerts you can sign up for instead. For example, Arlington Virginia offers the Arlington Alert system.
Communication During a Natural Disaster
Devices – During a natural disaster, it can be difficult to get accurate news and information, especially if there is a power outage. Some possible ways of ensuring ongoing communication from news organizations and between family members is to invest in two devices for your “emergency kit” – a prepaid cell phone that remains fully charged, and a battery-operated radio. (Make sure you have fresh batteries stored as well!) Although simplistic, these two devices can help during a power outage in a natural disaster to keep the flow of information going.
Twitter – In recent years, Twitter has become a way that people have been able to become aware of and communicate about natural disasters as they happen. This real-time aspect from at-the-scene sources often trumps news organizations in timeliness and authenticity. Recognizing this, Twitter has set up a feature called Twitter Alerts. Twitter Alerts allows a user to sign up for alerts from a specific account (like FEMA). Anything designated by that account as an alert then gets sent to the user via push notifications and SMS.
Natural Disaster Aid
Unfortunately, we’ve seen a spate of natural disasters this past year. From bushfires in Australia to destructive tornados in the American Midwest to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, natural disasters occur. The aftermath is horrible to contemplate, and many of us are left wondering “How do we help?” One of the greatest advantages of technology is the ability to provide some form of natural disaster aid, no matter where you are located. For example, Facebook recently teamed up with the Red Cross to provide a button that appeared at the top of the main Facebook page after logging in that allowed people to instantly donate money for the Red Cross Typhoon Haiyan efforts.
Other ways of using social media for natural disaster aid include Google Docs providing information about dropoffs, volunteer efforts, food, housing and jobs, such as this Google Doc that was set up for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Google often steps in after a natural disaster and creates Crisis Maps using Google Maps technology. Crisis Maps provide crowdsourced information about people (with Person Finders), evacuation centers, crisis relief centers and relief drop zones, like this Crisis Map that was recently set up for Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. People also set up Facebook pages specifically for those affected by natural disasters, so those who want to help can connect with those who most need the help. A recent example of this is a Facebook page set up for the Washington Illinois Tornado Recovery effort.
Although natural disasters occur, we now have technology at our fingertips that enable us to stay aware, communicate and provide aid to those in need. If that can lessen the impact of a natural disaster in some way, technology can truly be a useful tool for mankind.
