Big Data: A Natural Solution for Disaster Relief | SmartData Collective

Big Data: A Natural Solution for Disaster Relief | SmartData Collective: Terrestrial challenges, on the other hand, are currently more amenable to big data. One of big data’s true strengths lies in crisis mapping, the process of using visualizations, footage, analysis and apps to get an overview of a disaster as it evolves. Google’s Superstorm Sandy Crisis Map tracked the course of last winter’s storm, with video footage, evacuation routes and emergency aid centers. The UN commissioned the Digital Humanitarian Network to track the real-time effects of Typhoon Pablo in the Philippines. Among other efforts, social data was analyzed to provide a detailed, real-time map of displaced people, fatalities, crop damage, broken bridges and more.

Hundreds of Red Cross Disaster Relief Workers Helping in Mississippi

Hundreds of Red Cross Disaster Relief Workers Helping in Mississippi: Hundreds of American Red Cross disaster relief workers are in Mississippi with more arriving over the Presidential holiday weekend.

"Close to 300 Red Cross volunteers are on the ground in South and Central Mississippi providing disaster relief and comfort to those affected by last weekend’s tornadoes and floods,” said Tinika Fails, Volunteer and Training Manager for the American Red Cross Mississippi Region. “Thanks to these dedicated folks, yesterday we were able to provide more than 2,000 meals, 2,000 snacks and 2,000 disaster relief items to people in the impacted areas.”

Japan disaster relief effort boosted by 'goodwill gold rush' | World news | guardian.co.uk

Japan disaster relief effort boosted by 'goodwill gold rush' | World news | guardian.co.uk: Japan disaster relief effort boosted by 'goodwill gold rush'

Anonymous donor from northern Japan sends eight gold ingots worth �160,000 to Ishinomaki, where 3,000 people died

Porter’s penny philanthropy � Local News � MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK

Porter’s penny philanthropy � Local News � MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK: Rash, the Porter Consolidated Schools Family, Careers and Community Leaders of America adviser, and her FCCLA group settled on a fundraiser: They would ask every student, teacher, administrator, business and resident to donate 28 pennies — one penny each for the 27 deaths in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012. The 28th penny would be for the community, still reeling from the mass shooting.

House OKs Bill to Allow FEMA Aid for Sandy-Hit Faith Sites - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

House OKs Bill to Allow FEMA Aid for Sandy-Hit Faith Sites - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: House OKs Bill to Allow FEMA Aid for Sandy-Hit Faith Sites

February 14, 2013, 10:55 am

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday to make churches mosques, synagogues, and other religious buildings damaged by Superstorm Sandy eligible for federal aid, the Associated Press reports.

Nebraska Partnership for Philanthropic Planning : Programs : Newsroom

Nebraska Partnership for Philanthropic Planning : Programs : Newsroom: All it takes is one person to start a movement. And NBC News correspondent Ann Curry proved that statement to be true. After the devastation that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary school in December, Curry posed a simple statement on Twitter that caused a viral movement.

“Imagine if all of us committed to 20 mitzvahs/acts of kindness to honor each child lost in Newtown. I’m in. If you are RT #20acts.”

Disaster Relief Teams Help Snowy Northeast | WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio

Disaster Relief Teams Help Snowy Northeast | WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio: Local disaster relief teams will help victims of Superstorm Sandy deal with the impact of the nor'easter that just pummeled through the region.

Locally based disaster relief organizations, such as The Salvation Army and The American Red Cross, have already been working for several months helping victims of Sandy.

Greater New York Chapter Preparing for Major Winter Storm � American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

Greater New York Chapter Preparing for Major Winter Storm � American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom: Greater New York Chapter Preparing for Major Winter Storm

Online tools 'decentralising disaster relief efforts' - SciDev.Net

Online tools 'decentralising disaster relief efforts' - SciDev.Net: Researchers writing in Disasters evaluated the experiences of Harvard University's Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) during the Sichuan and Haiti earthquake responses in 2008 and 2010, respectively.

UVM Alumni to give $60,000 to Vermont Disaster Relief Fund | Vermont Business Magazine

UVM Alumni to give $60,000 to Vermont Disaster Relief Fund | Vermont Business Magazine: The University of Vermont Alumni Association is making a $60,000 contribution to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.

Obama Signs Sandy Bill Providing $50.5 Billion In Disaster Relief Into Law

Obama Signs Sandy Bill Providing $50.5 Billion In Disaster Relief Into Law: Obama Signs Sandy Bill Providing $50.5 Billion In Disaster Relief Into Law

Haggling over Hurricane Sandy relief: The unraveling of a rational disaster relief policy - The Hill's Congress Blog

Haggling over Hurricane Sandy relief: The unraveling of a rational disaster relief policy - The Hill's Congress Blog: The frustrating delay in moving Hurricane Sandy relief through Congress reflects more than regional resentments and the fiscal conservatism of some House members.

1 | Sandy's Driftwood Becomes Color-Blocked Art For Charity | Co.Design: business innovation design

1 | Sandy's Driftwood Becomes Color-Blocked Art For Charity | Co.Design: business innovation design: Two New York art directors collected, dried, and painted wood they found on the Jersey Shore after the hurricane. Now, the pieces are being sold to benefit local reconstruction efforts.

Mega disaster relief fund could be on cards | Sunshine Coast Daily

Mega disaster relief fund could be on cards | Sunshine Coast Daily: A MEGA disaster relief fund to shield taxpayers from sudden levies to recoup costs after significant weather events could be discussed once the Queensland floods enter a recovery phase.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan would not discuss whether his government would introduce another flood levy, as it did after the 2011 Queensland floods, on Monday.

How to Do Disaster Relief Right - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

How to Do Disaster Relief Right - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: The debate over the size and content of the legislation providing relief for residents of New York and New Jersey whose homes and communities were devastated by Superstorm Sandy raises questions beyond why some feckless Republican members of Congress voted to deny this region the kind of relief that the U.S. government has previously provided (in a much faster way) to other regions hit by natural disasters. How does one do disaster relief properly? This is an area where nonprofits can teach legislators what works and what isn’t all that helpful.

A very good teacher is Juanita Rilling, the executive director of the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI), which works to educate the public, nonprofits, and government agencies about the best ways to provide international disaster relief. Because it isn’t a disaster relief organization itself, it isn’t pitching for this or that kind of disaster aid, but simply for smarter disaster relief in general. Rilling spoke to the Nonprofit Quarterly shortly after Superstorm Sandy struck.

Disaster Update: American Red Cross Contributes $50,000 to Zimbabwe Disaster Relief � American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

Disaster Update: American Red Cross Contributes $50,000 to Zimbabwe Disaster Relief � American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom: Disaster Update: American Red Cross Contributes $50,000 to Zimbabwe Disaster Relief

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 – The American Red Cross is contributing $50,000 to help those affected by food insecurity caused by drought and below-normal rainfall in Zimbabwe.

Microsoft Launches Free Disaster Relief App

Microsoft Launches Free Disaster Relief App: Microsoft has recently released a new Disaster Relief app that goes under the name HelpBridge. The application is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8. The application allows you to do two things: ask for help and give help. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to call for help, you can send a message out via Facebook, SMS and email to a preassigned list of contacts with your location and a message. As of now, the app doesn’t support Twitter. HelpBridge also allows users to alert family and friends that they’re OK after a disaster strikes.

Haiti: United States Has Disbursed $2.5 Billion Since 2010 Earthquake

Haiti: United States Has Disbursed $2.5 Billion Since 2010 Earthquake: he United States has disbursed more than $2.5 billion in Haiti since the earthquake in January 2010, according to a State Department release issued Wednesday.

That number represents disbursements through the end of September 2012. The US had committed more than $3.6 billion toward “relief, recovery and reconstruction” in the same period, it said.

Charity at the top of these slopes | Boston Herald

Charity at the top of these slopes | Boston Herald: hat’s how, just a half-year after the end of one of the toughest financial seasons in ski resort history, the folks in Vermont made things happen, donating close to $100,000 to disaster relief from the storm.

Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Using Hollywood to Teach People About Disaster Giving

January 10, 2013, 4:15 pm

By Caroline Preston

Mike Rea, founder of Give2Asia, calls the 2004 Asian tsunamis the “first global disaster of our time.”

Now an employee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Rea wanted to use the disaster’s 10th anniversary to investigate what had become of the millions of dollars his group contributed and the many people it aspired to help.