January 18, 2010
Haiti. Ushahidi offers SMS too help people find each other
One of the technologies to help people finding each other in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake comes from Ushahidi, based on SMS messages.
Shortly after Ushahidi deployed http://haiti.ushahidi.com in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, it became clear they needed a local SMS short code to make mobile reporting more viable. Josh Nesbit, Co-Founder of FrontlineSMS:Medic, took the lead by looking for a contact on the ground in Haiti. Using Twitter, Josh found Jean-Marc Castera who was heading to the DigiCel command center. Working in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, Ushahidi eventually secured the short code 4636 from DigiCel.
The SMS shortcode 4636 is now live.
The people located in Haiti, can report emergency info and location by texting 4636.
A web interface then allows Creole speaking "dispatchers" -- from anywhere on the Internet -- to take the SMS messages off the queue to organize and tag them.
The system is currently tracking information in the several categories and subcategories including: emergencies, threats, responder activities, news about individuals, and the location of resources.
[via PBS]
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