TSUNAMI: The role of real time information during a crisis
Phuket - Thailand
Okay, we are in the middle of a worldwide crisis.
The millions of people who were near the coasts in Asia yesterday morning are either safe, but in need of essentials, like foods and clothes, or they are being treated in hospitals around the world, or they are lying in a morgue, somwhere, and need to be identified, or they are dispersed at sea, maybe even still alive.
Wouldn't it be nice to know?
The local authorities and populations are doing very well trying to make sure that everybody is looked after.
I can hear the helicopters flying back and forth from the beaches to the hospitals all day.
My neighbors and friends are delivering food to hospitals and doing general volunteering.
But information is badly missing.
It is missing for the following reasons:
Telephone communication is scarce, many mobile networks are still providing scatty service
The internet, reasonably reliable and fast, is not used by authorities nor rescue services to communicate, despite the fact that it has been up without interruption during the entire crisis
Local authorities officials and improvised aid teams speak little English, and if they do, they dont know what information they should be seeking, nor where they should publish it once they have it
There is no coordination between local rescue teams and international authorities
International authorities are not making their efforts visible to the community, so nobody knows who is in charge. I haven't seen one single name published anywhere of any single person responsible for coordination on the entire planet.
There is no coordinated effort from aid organisations to provide families and friends of missing people with the following information
NATIONALITY
COUNTRY
REGION
LOCALITY
RESORT
NAME OF NATIONAL
Picture?
AUTHORITY RESPONSIBLE, contacts
NAME OF INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITY LIAISING WITH REGIONAL RESCUE SERVICES
RESCUE TEAM CONTACT email, website, phone numbers
(list)NAME OF RESCUED
(list)NAME OF MISSING
(list)other
Of course, it's not that easy just to compile a list of 'deceased' especially when there is nobody around to identify the body.
Also, everybody is taken aback by the scale of devastation. Bodies are piling up fast everywere, and not many people know how to handle that with diplomacy.
I know, it's going to be hard.
But digital information can really be useful here.
The sad reality is that many people are trying to help, but unless international rescue teams make information updated and accessible in real time, much of such good will is lost.
The international community should immediately set up a website that can be updated in real time by remote rescue teams, with useful names and communication channels available for everyone to use.
This is possible, feasible and should be done immediately.
What are we waiting for?
Paola Di Maio is a real time systems engineer, stranded inland Phuket with four liters of water and an internet connection.
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