In a summit facilitated by Google Philippines, Meryl Stone of the Google Social Impact Team said that they are looking forward to a more informative platform with different tools by working with local authorities and citizen volunteers.
“Google’s commitment is to work with local authorities and volunteers to build up a more advanced crisis response platform [which would] make information more accessible during disasters.”
The Google Crisis Response has the following tools available: Public Alerts that would show structured data feeds on Google search; Crisis Map, a mash-up of different data sources to show a detailed map on an area; Person Finder, an open-source database of missing persons; and the Crisis Landing Page, a single stop for emergency information and of all aforementioned tools.
Google first reached out during typhoon Ondoy, with providing a Crisis Map that offered shelter information. This was again made available during typhoon Sendong, with the addition of the Person Finder which used government information.
In the recent surge of typhoon Yolanda, a consolidated platform was made. The landing page included news and information of response and recovery efforts people may reach out or go to.
According to Stone, Google is not aiming to be conventional by showing only basic data when there’s a storm surge or a calamity.
They aim to work with government agencies and other institutions that would be willing to hand them information, letting Google be a central platform that users may go to, similar to a one-stop site.
“We’re not just showing, ‘you know, here’s the storm map’, but we’re showing ‘here are the roads and their current status of traffic and here are the recommended evacuation routes. Here’s the storm surge coming so if you’re in one of the zones, it’s better to stay in higher grounds.’”
However, Stone said that they are still in need of more information from the Philippines, as they’re still trying to fill in the gap with geo-data.
“We need data to make all these products work, and we’re very interested in actively trying to make those partnerships in the Philippines to get that data to surface.”
She said they call for partners and institutions that would be willing to impart relevant information on detailed maps, relief centers, person inquiries, and the like during disasters.
“If you have access to geo-data, we’d love for you to share it, this is a very simple interface where you can share data [while] making sure that this content is available on national search results.” Stone said.
Google is known as one of the most recognized brands for its continued efforts on improving web search and connecting people to information.
The Google Crisis Response team, since 2005, has already assisted around 40 emergency situations in over 20 countries.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
