After the launch of Person Finder tool that helps in finding and collecting information on missing people during the Uttarakhand floods, Google Crisis Response team has started another initiative, Crisis Map to help people in the flood effected area. Crisis Map for Uttarakhand helps in assisting authorities effort by providing quick information such as, places affected, relief centers, Medical centers and road closures.
The devastating floods in Uttarakhand and other Northern part of the country has caused many districts in the state becoming highly inaccessible and cut from any form of communication. There has been report of more than 50,000 people still trapped by flooding and death toll crossing 550. Google providing a helping hand to the effected people with the Crisis Map, which provide information on area impacted by the floods, Relief centers and shelters where people can go, Medical Centers and Road closure information.
“Responding to a disaster of this scale is a daunting task, but we can all do something to help. From experiences in past calamities, we have learnt how crucial and helpful real-time information is for responding agencies and people affected by the disaster.” says Jayanth Mysore, Senior Product Manager in Google India blog.
The crisis map is still in the earlier version so accuracy of the information is till an issue. Google has relied on the scantily available information where available and asks individuals and organizations to contribute better information to improve the accuracy.
Source – Google Crisis Response Map