Working with India’s National Disaster Management Authority and SEEDS to help improve India’s response to natural disasters
Delhi, 9 November 2017: As one of the most natural disaster prone countries in the region, every year India is affected by natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, landslides, cyclones and drought. During and after these crises, response organizations need accurate information to help communities response, recover and rebuild. Traditional communication channels are often offline and it can take significant time and resources to understand where help is desperately needed.
Facebook can help response organizations paint a more complete picture of where affected people are located so they can determine where resources — like food, water and medical supplies — are needed and where people are out of harm’s way.
Today, alongside India’s National Disaster Response Agency, Facebook is introducing several initiatives to help improve response and rebuild efforts to natural disasters in India.
Disaster Maps for India
Facebook is making disaster maps data available to India’s National Disaster Management Authority, and Indian humanitarian organizations, such as SEEDS. Disaster Maps, which was introduced globally in June, uses aggregated, de-identified Facebook data to help organizations address the critical gap in information they often face when responding to natural disasters. Facebook is providing multiple types of maps during disaster response efforts, which will include aggregated location information people have chosen to share with Facebook.
- Location density maps show where people are located before, during and after a disaster. We can compare this information to historical records, like population estimates based on satellite images. Comparing these data sets can help response organizations understand areas impacted by a natural disaster.
- Movement maps illustrate patterns of movement between different neighborhoods or cities over a period of several hours. By understanding these patterns, response organizations can better predict where resources will be needed, gain insight into patterns of evacuation, or predict where traffic will be most congested.
- Safety Check maps are based on where our community uses Safety Check to notify their friends and family that they are safe during a disaster. We are using this de-identified data in aggregate to show where more or fewer people check in safe, which may help organizations understand where people are most vulnerable and where help is needed.
We are sharing this information with trusted organizations that have the capacity to act on the data and respect our privacy standards.
First Disaster Response Summit in India with India’s National Disaster Management Authority
Facebook is holding its first, annual Disaster Response Summit in India with NDMA, which will bring together key humanitarian organisations and non-profits to help train and discuss how technology can be used to devise better responses to natural disasters and subsequent recovery. Policy makers, think tanks and Indian humanitarian organisations will attend the event.
Disaster Information Volunteers program with India’s National Disaster Management Authority and SEEDS
Facebook is supporting the pilot of the ASK-DIV (Disaster Information Volunteers) scheme where a network of trained volunteers provide supplementary information to inform government relief efforts through the Facebook Workplace platform. This program, which is being executed by SEEDS (a leading NGO working on disaster resilience), will establish a network of volunteers to provide real-time, first-hand information on disasters in their local communities. The volunteers will be mobilized, trained and connected through existing networks of local and credible civil society organizations (as identified by SEEDS) as well as willing individuals from public agencies. The program will be piloted in two disaster prone states – Assam and Uttarakhand. Facebook will provide support through the setup of Facebook Workplace for the volunteers to relay information, while the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will receive this information securely and coordinate.
Ritesh Mehta, Head of Programs, India, South and Central Asia: “When people are connected, they can achieve extraordinary things as individuals and as a community. We want to empower our community by building products that connect people and create positive social impact. In times of disaster, our platform is a valuable source of information – whether it’s letting your friends and family know you are safe with Safety Check or using Facebook to raise donations for relief efforts. India is one of the most natural disaster prone countries in the world. Through ourwork with India’s National Disaster Management Authority and the roll out of disaster maps in India, and the disaster information volunteers initiative, we hope we can help communities get the information they need to prepare, respond and recover if disaster strikes.”
RK Jain, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA): “This collaboration between NDMA and Facebook derives its inspiration from PM’s 10 point agenda which clearly states “utilizing opportunities by social media and mobile technologies in the area of disaster management”. NDMA is proactively utilising social media for awareness generation. This is an important benchmark towards integrating social media with disaster response activities. I am sure this partnership will open new avenues for using mobile technology in disaster situation.”
Manu Gupta, Director, SEEDS – “Information on where people are located, what resources are needed, and who is safe, are all critical information that can help humanitarian organisations like ourselves respond and recover from natural disasters. The disaster information volunteer network and Facebook’s Disaster Maps will play a key role in helping us get the right help to the right people at the right time. Facebook has been at the forefront of engaging with the disaster management ecosystem.”
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