DisastersStart-ups offer apps which help people cope with disasters

Open data policies which allow government agencies to share public information with citizens and the private sector have made California welcoming to startups dedicated to helping communities recover following a disaster.

When the magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck the Napa Valley on Sunday, 24 August, causing more than $362 million in damage, San-Francisco-based Appallicious could have helped local residents and emergency responders access road conditions and weather information, but the firm’s Disaster Assessment and Assistance Dashboard (DAAD) is still in beta phase. When released to the public, the browser-based application, featured at the White House’s Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Demo Day, will allow subscribed cities and towns to select from hundreds of data sets, then share with the public information on evacuation routes, current hazards, and location of critical resources. The data offered will be relevant to the needs of the affected city or town. “One of the biggest problems here is earthquakes,” said Appallicious CEO Yo Yoshida. “so liquefaction zones are a huge issue.”

TechWire notes that DAAD also offers users information on available public services during disasters. “You can populate what assets you have,” Yoshida said. “High schools may have first aid or sleeping facilities. Construction companies may have backhoes. Who has defibrillators? Who has chainsaws? The idea is to identify local resources and to map them.”

While DAAD allows residents to access available information shared by local authorities, mobile app BlueLine Grid, allows public employees from different agencies to communicate with each other during a crisis. Communications breakdowns during the 9/11 attacks in New York and 2012’s Superstorm Sandy have highlighted the need for reliable real time information sharing between emergency responders. BlueLine Grid offers text, voice, group messaging, and location services to any public sector employee. “Nothing exacerbates a crisis like a lack of communication,” says CEO Jack Weiss. “Which means the more we can keep our government agencies and its employees connected, the more lives can be saved.”

Another tech startup, SeeClickFix, is connecting residents to their local government. “A lot of governments are stretched thin these days,” says SeeClickFix CEO Ben Berkowitz. “We want to empower people to better their own communities by making it easy and efficient to bring problems to the attention of local governments.” The year-round service allows citizens to report concerns like potholes, downed trees, or power lines, to local authorities.