Typhoon Ondoy Situation Map is now on Google Blog

Therese Lim of the Southeast Asia Team just posted this. Thanks Google!

1. “… We’re very saddened by the losses the Filipino people have sustained during this calamity. To help you stay up to date on the disaster and contribute to the relief efforts, we’ve put up a Help for Typhoon Ondoy Victims in the Philippines page that contains the latest news from local media outlets, lists of verified donation sites and emergency hotlines, and a volunteer-maintained map of persons needing rescue.Filipinos have been posting videos of the flooding and its aftermath on YouTube. You can also visualize the overflows along main rivers and bays in Google Earth with this kmz file.

   If you’re familiar with Google Maps and would like to get involved in the effort to map missing persons, relief centers and road conditions, you can email the volunteer team at typhoonondoy@googlegroups.com. We will continue to update the page with the latest information and imagery, and keep your eye on the Lat Long blog for updates about disaster …”

Hopefully, these kind of tools can be used to the most granular of LGU (local government unit) level in the Philippines – at the baranggay level. With these kind of tools, some of the things that can be mitigated should not happen again – maybe something like integration with Frontline SMS?

posted by Paul “The Pageman” Pajo