#mission4636

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#5 Crowdsourcing // Haiti Earthquake

Crowdsourcing is not a new concept. However, digital devices have revolutionised it in such a way that it may seem to be a new form of communication, especially in times of crisis. On January 12 of 2010 Haiti faced a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The death toll was estimated at 300,000 with 1.3 million people displaced and left homeless 10 months following the earthquake. It damaged nearly half of all the structures in the epicentral area with an estimated loss of 14 billion US dollars. (DesRoches, 2011)

In the aftermath of the earthquake, millions of Haitians lacked food, water and shelter, resulting in aid workers flooding the area. The problem that arose was that the aid workers lacked information about who needed help and where. Haiti’s two major telecommunications carriers had their cell towers running immediately but huge call volumes exceeded their capacity and resulted in service outages. (Biewald) This issue required attention instantly. A group of companies worked together to set up a text message hotline which was called ‘Mission 4636’. The hotline was advertised on radio stations and anyone could send a free text message to the number ‘4636’ to request help.

In the first month, the hotline number received more than 40,000 texts but some problems had occurred. The text messages were in Haitian Creolo and the aid workers who were designated to respond spoke English. Many of the texts also contained location information that Haitians could only understand, such as popular landmarks and references to neighbourhoods. This is where crowdsourcing was of major assistance. Crowdsourcing companies such as Ushahidi and CrowdFlower customised the technology to allow Haitians living outside the country at the time to translate texts in real time and for free. Through word of mouth, the number of volunteer translators grew rapidly. Heartbreaking messages were sent to the hotline that could then be translated into English, including one message that wrote “I am in the town of Jeremie in the Grand’Ance Department. My boyfriend died, I’m 8 months pregnant, I don’t have any money. Whatever you can do for me will be a deliverance.” The ‘4636’ number also got a text from an overcrowded hospital that was running out of fuel and within in minutes the message was translated and fuel was deployed straight away.

Seven years later, 2.5 million people living in Haiti still required humanitarian assistance. (United Nations, 2017) The U.N humanitarian Coordinator Mourad Wahba spoke and said, “There are still about 55,00 people in camps and makeshift camps. Many are still living in unsanitary conditions due to displacement caused by the earthquake. We still have a very long way to go.” People are still texting the hotline expressing need for food, water or shelter.

Crowdsourcing provided thousands of ‘data points’ on what Haitians needed following the devastating earthquake. Mission 4636 cost less than $500,00 to design, build and deploy… it saved lives.

References: https://escweb.wr.usgs.gov/share/mooney/142.pdf http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/03/how-crowdsourcing-helped-haiti.html https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/haiti-earthquake-anniversary_us_5875108de4b02b5f858b3f9c

[teganpea]

Crowdsourcing in a crisis and the day I got a free twiggystick.

Crowdsourcing in times of crisis in recent years has become increasingly important with the first major case being Mission 4636. During the crisis in Haiti in 2010 people stayed connected and instead of sourcing information from authorities they relied on personal contacts to stay informed about the changing situations. Local radio was also an integral part of people’s survival. Radio stations invited people to call and relay information like fresh water supply centers, food distribution and missing persons.

  Mission 4636 was essentially a free phone number provided to the Haitian population as a way of giving aid organisations real time information along with local knowledge. People were able to text in information and within 5 minutes their messages were “translated, categorized, geo-located and streamed back to the responders” (Munro, 2010). Mission 4626, was established by aid workers both local and international, along with volunteers before transferring control to organisations within Haiti. This new way or acquiring and filtering information was crucial to the recovery efforts.

  Since Haiti in 2010 no crisis crowdsourcing has been as influential, yet that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been as important. Many people during crisis alerts rely on new media for updated reports because it can be instantaneous unlike other older avenues. The use of twitter and a common hashtag can provide people with on the scene information. Facebook can be another useful platform where authorities’ can upload information and provide feedback to questions. In Australia bushfire are prevalent and a lot of people source their information on evacuation and safe zones from Facebook and other social media sites.

  The understanding that crowdsourcing is an essential part of information collecting and distribution in times of crisis is not so much a breakthrough as it is obvious. Locals know their communities and regions better than any organisation, so the enlisting of their help in times of crisis, to me, seems like a no-brainer.

  Also my apologies on the lack of processed meat appreciation posts lately, but you will be happy to know that today while shopping with my housemate the lovely girl at our local Coles gave us free, yes I said FREE, twiggysticks. What a good egg she is! Definitely will be recommending her for some kind of employee award!

  Reference:

Munro, R, Crowdsourcing and the crisis-affected community, Stanford University