http://www.humanitarian.info/2006/05/07/open-source-disaster-recovery/ because information can save lives Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:15:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.humanitarian.info/2006/05/07/open-source-disaster-recovery/comment-page-1/#comment-153191 Paul Currion Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:36:49 +0000 http://www.humanitarian.info/2006/05/07/open-source-disaster-recovery/#comment-153191 Lynne, thanks for the insights, and I'd be interested to know more about Disastersearch II. I wondered if you had any information on how many people benefited from the service, in terms of people reunited with their families or friends? Without these sorts of metrics, it's difficult to make a clear judgment about utility. Lynne, thanks for the insights, and I’d be interested to know more about Disastersearch II. I wondered if you had any information on how many people benefited from the service, in terms of people reunited with their families or friends? Without these sorts of metrics, it’s difficult to make a clear judgment about utility.

]]> http://www.humanitarian.info/2006/05/07/open-source-disaster-recovery/comment-page-1/#comment-152596 Lynne Pope Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:50:32 +0000 http://www.humanitarian.info/2006/05/07/open-source-disaster-recovery/#comment-152596 It's an old article but I have only just seen it and feel compelled to respond. Within hours of Katrina, I was privileged to be leading a team who, utilising our skills with foss development, quickly got disastersearch.org online. The site went up as the Katrina Refugee Help Center and by the time the further hurricanes of 2005 struck, we had renamed it to Disastersearch. And had made a commitment to continue development, using what we learned so it can be even more effective in future disasters. Over a million people registered on the site as either missing or searching for loved ones. The service resulted in two of the founders working, unpaid and full-time on it for the best part of a year and part-time since 2007. It went offline in October 2007 as a result of running out of money to pay for hosting but even in 2008, we are still responding to emails. Geeks don't usually see a humanitarian impact from their work and the impact of what we did has been a life-changing experience. DisastersearchII will be ready within the next few months. We just hope its never going to be needed again. It’s an old article but I have only just seen it and feel compelled to respond. Within hours of Katrina, I was privileged to be leading a team who, utilising our skills with foss development, quickly got disastersearch.org online. The site went up as the Katrina Refugee Help Center and by the time the further hurricanes of 2005 struck, we had renamed it to Disastersearch. And had made a commitment to continue development, using what we learned so it can be even more effective in future disasters.
Over a million people registered on the site as either missing or searching for loved ones. The service resulted in two of the founders working, unpaid and full-time on it for the best part of a year and part-time since 2007. It went offline in October 2007 as a result of running out of money to pay for hosting but even in 2008, we are still responding to emails.
Geeks don’t usually see a humanitarian impact from their work and the impact of what we did has been a life-changing experience. DisastersearchII will be ready within the next few months. We just hope its never going to be needed again.

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