Google's recommendations for civil society in case of natural disaster

Google Mexico in collaboration with # Verificados19S launched on Tuesday a manual of recommendations for civil society with the aim of improving support operations in the event of natural disasters similar to the earthquake of 19 September 2017.

This guide is the result of an badysis of the objectives achieved by the group after its rescue and the support provided to the victims of the earthquake.After a year and a half of working with the American society.

The disaster communication manual is a systematization of your experience that answers three basic questions: What do I need to run an intelligence center that deals with information?, What technology platforms help to process this information?; and what can be done to improve the operation so that more lives can be saved in the event of a disaster?

The members of the organization, oriented towards the implementation of technological solutions for natural disasters, stressed that even if the verified information is still rare in the event of disaster, civil society can have a strategic role in such a situation; capture, organize and share data. The Internet is a fundamental channel for reaching as many people as possible.

In the manual Three online platforms stand out. In order of relevance, Twitter, WhatsApp and Telegram. Each serves different things; in the first case, it allows the collection of effective information through the real-time updating of disasters, as well as the use of hashtags and images. Whatssap and Telegram, on the other hand, are good apps for sharing your site and generating trusted groups to facilitate collaboration.

During the presentation of the manual, its creators emphasized the importance of standardization and information processing. Added to this is the periodicity of update, key to any platform used by rescuers so that it does not become obsolete.

The history of the manual

After the disaster of 19 September, the lack of updated, accurate and clear information has led the architect Sergio Beltrán-García to generate a map to locate geographically damaged buildings of the city. Although, at first, this was corroborated by the same thing, he soon realized the titanic task that it would represent. In social networks, such as Twitter and WhatsApp, their contacts began to report new areas damaged by the earthquake.

The development of the digital map has reached its limit, My cards He had been overwhelmed by the amount of information. It was there when it was decided to seek the help of Google to facilitate the use of the same card by the intelligence team.

The operation of # Verificados19s and Google Mexico during the emergency had two main thrusts. The first was the creation of a map to locate key sites during an emergency. The second was the digital strategy on Twitter, which aimed to extend specific needs in critical areas. Both helped the community identify and promote the necessary help.

During a press conference, the authors highlighted the lessons learned from the 19 September earthquake. In the specific case of those working in the field, it was pointed out that the use of digital forms was not useful for demand management in e-commerce. zero zones, because of the urgency and speed with which the situation has changed in these places.

Because the coordinators who served as brokers were responsible for managing all the information arrived, the operation was finally centralized. making it necessary for a small group of people who, in many cases, did not have the necessary preparation and tools to respond to disasters.