Pakreport.org is collecting and distributing alerts about flood incidents in Pakistan.
The website’s founder is Islamabad-based technology entrepreneur and TED Fellow Faisal Chohan. Working with him are a team of over 33 volunteers, drawn from professional crisis-mappers and Pakistani postgraduate students in the United States.
When the floods struck, Faisal and his team swung into action, working with Kenya-based Ushahidi.com to build and deploy the crowd-sourced crisis response platform
Allowing anyone to report their observations of a flooded area by texting 3441 or reporting online, Pakreport collates live information. Once verified by a Pakreport administrator, the information is placed on a map of Pakistan. Pakreport’s process ensures that only reliable information is published, but at the same time gives space for potentially life-saving information to be noted from private individuals.
It prevents duplication of efforts and brings to relief agencies’ attention areas where people need help. Amnesty International has recognised the website's utility, as has the Ministry of Information and a number of media outlets. Several agencies are using Pakreport.
So far the website has logged 1,523 reports. An increased awareness and use of the initiative will streamline flood relief.
Past initiatives like PakReport have been effective in saving lives. Using Google Earth in conjunction with the Ushahidi platform, students at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston instant-messaged with the United States Coast Guard in Haiti, telling them where to search.
Visit Pakreport.org here >> http://www.pakreport.org/ushahidi/main
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If you have a story from the Pakistan floods, please email it to chris@ted.com (Pakistan floods: the stories we're not being told http://bit.ly/9RI2Jm).
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(posted by Jane Wulf)