paying close attention to community-based disaster response after Sandy -- lessons learned already
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Edward Goehring
Oct 31, 2012, 7:25:38 PM10/31/12
to Jean Quan, Kitty Piercy, joseph.d.rizzi, Carlos Barrera, Simmons, Geoff (MD), Randy Prince, Richard Cowan, A Safer Eugene & Lane County, Domingo, Renee, Leno, Mark, San Francisco Fire Department NERT Training, Snell, Kathy, DVM, us, Kevn_Cashman@ci. sf. ca., Booth, Kathryn, Schaaf, Libby, Lee, Bill, Lee, Frank, Radcliffe, Tom, Sykes, Renee, Barnhart, Phil, Sorenson, Pete, Erica Arteseros, Nestor Flores, SF Bay Area Public Safety Communications Working Group, Pete Kerns
First lesson: Local community groups are now able to immediately mobilize and organize improvised self-help for stricken areas via social media and the Internet in many new ways.
Second lesson: Those ad hoc groups can also begin worldwide fundraising for local relief efforts even as a disaster is unfolding.
Comparing the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, there are already important differences to be seen in how local citizens communicate, cooperate, organize and respond to a disaster. With enough infrastructure remaining to allow some cellular and Internet access, average citizens on the East Coast are already improvising food distribution, neighborhood communications, rescues, electrical power generation on a small scale and so forth -- via every means from bike messengers to social media.
I want to encourage disaster planners and officials to look closely at what social media and grassroots organizations were accomplishing regarding Sandy's impact even before the flood waters began to subside and winds died down.
A good example of this can be seen at http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/. Yes, that example is an offshoot of the Occupy movement -- one of their public service groups like those that run soup kitchens and free clinics in some major cities. The Occupy Sandy website and Facebook pages are an exceptionally clear example of how neighborhood-level groups are mobilizing to meet local needs in very creative ways -- while funding those efforts with money from all over the planet.
Here are a few sample posts from a Facebook page created on Oct. 29th in NYC. The page has garnered around 1,500 supporters in two days.
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"Status Update
Edward B. Goehring
Email: edward....@gmail.com
Phone: 541 632-2291
Fax: 541 683-5483
http://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardgoehring
http://www.visualcv.com/edwardgoehring
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Founder, Partnerships For Public Safety:
A Safer Eugene & Lane County, Oregon - https://www.facebook.com/asafereugeneandlanecounty
San Francisco Bay Area Public Safety Communications - http://groups.google.com/group/sfbaypublicsafetycommunications
Memberships:
Second lesson: Those ad hoc groups can also begin worldwide fundraising for local relief efforts even as a disaster is unfolding.
Comparing the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, there are already important differences to be seen in how local citizens communicate, cooperate, organize and respond to a disaster. With enough infrastructure remaining to allow some cellular and Internet access, average citizens on the East Coast are already improvising food distribution, neighborhood communications, rescues, electrical power generation on a small scale and so forth -- via every means from bike messengers to social media.
I want to encourage disaster planners and officials to look closely at what social media and grassroots organizations were accomplishing regarding Sandy's impact even before the flood waters began to subside and winds died down.
A good example of this can be seen at http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/. Yes, that example is an offshoot of the Occupy movement -- one of their public service groups like those that run soup kitchens and free clinics in some major cities. The Occupy Sandy website and Facebook pages are an exceptionally clear example of how neighborhood-level groups are mobilizing to meet local needs in very creative ways -- while funding those efforts with money from all over the planet.
Here are a few sample posts from a Facebook page created on Oct. 29th in NYC. The page has garnered around 1,500 supporters in two days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Status Update
By Occupy Sandy Relief NYC
Just got word that Greenpeace is about 2 - 3 hours away, bringing a solar truck to Red Hook to provide charging power!"
"Here are some immediate ways you can help at the Greenpoint Reformed Church Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry
Today, Wednesday, October 31st:
From 3-8pm we need chefs for tonight's community dinner. We'll be making extra to take to nearby shelters. "
"http://gothamist.com/map/ Map of latest incidents, fires etc."
"St. Jacobi Church in Sunset Park is now open for volunteers to cook hot food. Please come with some food to cook!
Red Hook's kitchen is all filled up, so please come to St. Jacobi instead.
Address: 5406 4th Avenue at 54th street in Brooklyn"
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Thousands of posts like those above are being seen and responded to by citizens with smartphones, tablets, laptops and other Internet-ready devices. They are organizing their own battery or generator power (bike-powered generators set up at a central point or via solar panels).
I think we should be watching all this very closely to pick up new and unexpected "best practices" in grassroots disaster relief.
One of the great advantages of disaster response organizing via social media is that there will be a complete written record of tens of thousands of messages, photos and other data for experts to sift through afterwards. Never in history has such an unprecedentedly huge disaster been so thoroughly documented, especially the micro-details of block-by-block grassroots response and organization in those often-mentioned "72 hours" before FEMA, the National Guard and other major organizers arrive in many affected neighborhoods.
We can save many lives if we learn from what is unfolding in Sandy's wake."Here are some immediate ways you can help at the Greenpoint Reformed Church Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry
Today, Wednesday, October 31st:
From 3-8pm we need chefs for tonight's community dinner. We'll be making extra to take to nearby shelters. "
"http://gothamist.com/map/ Map of latest incidents, fires etc."
"St. Jacobi Church in Sunset Park is now open for volunteers to cook hot food. Please come with some food to cook!
Red Hook's kitchen is all filled up, so please come to St. Jacobi instead.
Address: 5406 4th Avenue at 54th street in Brooklyn"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thousands of posts like those above are being seen and responded to by citizens with smartphones, tablets, laptops and other Internet-ready devices. They are organizing their own battery or generator power (bike-powered generators set up at a central point or via solar panels).
I think we should be watching all this very closely to pick up new and unexpected "best practices" in grassroots disaster relief.
One of the great advantages of disaster response organizing via social media is that there will be a complete written record of tens of thousands of messages, photos and other data for experts to sift through afterwards. Never in history has such an unprecedentedly huge disaster been so thoroughly documented, especially the micro-details of block-by-block grassroots response and organization in those often-mentioned "72 hours" before FEMA, the National Guard and other major organizers arrive in many affected neighborhoods.
Edward B. Goehring
Email: edward....@gmail.com
Phone: 541 632-2291
Fax: 541 683-5483
http://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardgoehring
http://www.visualcv.com/edwardgoehring
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Founder, Partnerships For Public Safety:
A Safer Eugene & Lane County, Oregon - https://www.facebook.com/asafereugeneandlanecounty
San Francisco Bay Area Public Safety Communications - http://groups.google.com/group/sfbaypublicsafetycommunications
Memberships:
- Executive Board, Friendly Area Neighbors -- Eugene, Oregon - http://www.friendlyareaneighbors.org/
- Public Warning & Mass Notification System (MNS) Group
- Nlets (International Public Safety Information Sharing)
- Civil Emergency Alert Services Association
- AECC - Advanced Emergency Communications Coalition
- Safety & Security Professionals Of America
- EmComm Professionals
- Fire and Security Professionals
- 911 Cell Phone Bank
- National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
- Employees, Officials and Consultants of the City and County of San Francisco
- Interoperability in Emergency Communications a subgroup of EmComm Professionals
- Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1)
- Professionals in Emergency Management
- Public Safety Professionals
- Public Safety Technology Group
- Technology and Communications for Public Safety a subgroup of Public Safety Professionals
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