The document introduces the Standby Volunteer Task Force, an online community of over 150 volunteers from 17 countries who assist with crisis mapping during emergencies. The Task Force participated in simulations of earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and Colombia to test their ability to collect and verify reports, map data, analyze information, and provide support to humanitarian organizations. Feedback from UN organizations was positive, seeing the Task Force as a way to better incorporate community-generated data into emergency response efforts. The document argues that online volunteer communities like the Task Force can play an important role in facilitating communication between affected communities and humanitarian groups during crises.

1. Introducing the Standby Volunteer Task Force: An Online Community for Live Crisis MappingAnahi Ayala Iacuccianahi@crisismappers.netInternational Network of Crisis Mappers

2. January12, 2010: Haiti

3. At 16:53 local time a catastrophic earthquake magnitude 7.0 Mw hit the island of Haiti

4. 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater follow the earthquake

5. 316,000 people died

6. 300,000 injured

7. 1,000,000 homeless14th Jan: Flecther SchoolCredit Patrick Meier

8. All around the worldCredit: Rob Munro

9. Ushaidi Haiti

10. Credit Patrick Meier

11. February 27, 2010: Chile

12. At 03:34 local time, a earthquake rating a magnitude of 8.8 and lasting up to 3 minutes hit Chile

13. The earthquake triggered a tsunami which devastated several coastal towns in south-central Chile

14. By March 6, more than 130 aftershocks had been registered, including thirteen above magnitude 6.0

15. 723 people were reported killed

16. Nearly half the places in the country were declared "catastrophe zones", and curfews were imposed in some areas of looting and public disorder29th Feb: SIPA, Columbia University

18. Ushahidi Chile

19. July 2010: Pakistan

20. The 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin

21. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area underwater

22. 20 million people directly affected

23. death toll close to 2,000

24. More than 500,000 people displaced from their homes in the first month

25. CROWDFLOWER

26. PakReport

28. The crowd is always there…and it is ready to help!Why wait for an emergency to happen?

29. An Online Community for Live Crisis Mapping: The Standby Volunteer Task ForceLaunched at the International Crisis Mappers Conference in October 2010Over 150 skilled volunteers with dedicated experience in online Crisis Mappingfrom 17 different countriesOnly working with open, non-proprietary dataSpecific protocols for organizations seeking to activate the online volunteer community Specific criteria for the Task Force to decide whether or not to accept a requestDecentralized horizontal network of volunteers acting on the base of a code of conduct

30. What is Crisis Mapping?Crisis Mapping is composed four key components:Information collectionVisualizationAnalysisResponse

31. 1. Information collectionMedia Monitoring Team -Monitors online media for relevant reports.SMS Team -Monitors incoming SMS from already existing feed.Verification Team – Triangulates reports from the Media and SMS Teams

32. 2. VisualizationTranslation Team – Translates Media and SMS reports from/to English.Geo-Location Team – Finds GPS coordinates for Media and SMS report.Report Team – Categorize and approve reports after they have been translated and geo-locatedTechnology Team – Responsible for all technical tasks

33. 3. AnalisysAnalysis Team -Provides summary reports based on the incoming dataAnalysis Mapping Team – will provide PDF maps, printable maps and GIS maps for the teams in the field

34. 4. ResponseHumanitarian Team – Comprises existing professional humanitarians who liaise between the Task Force and humanitarian organizations.