Crowdsourcing Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami Survivors

The devastating effects of the earthquake and the tsunami that hit Japan are still reaping casualties along with a potential nuclear catastrophe.  Ushahidi, the internationally recognised platform that uses crowdsourcing for crisis management, once again steps in to help. The dedicated site sinsai.info/ushahidi was established within two hours of the earthquake, to help search for survivors and provide vital information of safe spots and danger zones.

The site established by Japanese volunteers working with the Fletcher School at Tufts University, was already under construction in anticipation of an earthquake hitting Japan. The site enables anyone with a mobile phone or smartphone to post details of any survivors in difficult to reach areas and of any unsafe areas which is then relayed to rescue operations. In turn the site also posts easily accessible information on the nearest emergency services stations as well as locations of clean water supplies and food stores.

Ushahidi was established to monitor the post election violence that erupted in Kenya in 2008. Since then it has been used to provide vital information during some the world’s major catastrophes including the earthquake in Haiti, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and more recently the battles that erupted in the African nations of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The platform however has become much more sophisticated and easier to implement.

Now it is much easier for people to create a version of Ushahidi tailored to their needs – Patrick Meier, Director of Crisis Mapping and New Media, Ushahidi.

Whilst Ushahidi relies heavily on people at the centre of the crisis to relay vital and accurate information, it has also created a Standby Task Force. The task force is made up of over 300 volunteers all vetted and trained in mapping information and providing accurate intelligence to be used by emergency response services. There are many internet based disaster recovery initiatives currently in operation, yet Ushahidi continues to grow and maintain its reputation as a leading force in crowdsourcing crisis management.