These days, it’s not often I get asked for my GIS/mapping skills – maybe it’s just because “making maps” aren’t as interesting now that there are so many tools at our disposal. But sometimes, just sometimes, there are some questions that a simple map with dots can’t answer. So when a request came up to … Continue reading How to calculate urban population by country using satellite data
Tag: disaster
World Humanitarian Day without Beyonce or Guetta
Every year on August 19, the world celebrates/commemorates World Humanitarian Day organized by UNOCHA, the UN organization I’ve been with since early this year. It’s a day to honor people who lost their lives in humanitarian service and those, who continue to bring assistance and relief to millions, and draw attention to humanitarian needs around … Continue reading World Humanitarian Day without Beyonce or Guetta
Stop calling these events ‘natural’ disasters…
In the first week of November 2013, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones every recorded made it’s way through Southeast Asia. Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, left a trail of destruction which galvanized international humanitarian support and media attention. There was a lot of interest in how many people were … Continue reading Stop calling these events ‘natural’ disasters…
Filtering out “Butt Dials” and saving lives with technology
I find the combination of Qatar and humanitarian action an unlikely partnership. It’s just not something that comes to mind when I think of how the world has come together to better respond to and address large scale disasters like the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, or even the … Continue reading Filtering out “Butt Dials” and saving lives with technology
Crowdsourcing for Disaster Preparedness – it’s the journey that counts
Reading a Master’s thesis isn’t a typical hobby of mine, but when one of my work’s interns said that his was on crowdsourcing for disaster preparedness, I had to get a copy. I finally had a chance to read it coming back from France on a 3-hour train – plenty of time to focus on … Continue reading Crowdsourcing for Disaster Preparedness – it’s the journey that counts