Community engagement and crowdsourcing for effective disaster response and rescue operations during the earthquake in Syria

Abstract

IntroductionOn February 6, 2023, at 4:17 a.m., a catastrophic earthquake struck the regions of southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria, leaving over 51.000 casualties, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. In Syria, the area affected by the earthquake was already vulnerable due to the protracted Syrian conflict. AimThe aim of this article was to present a report from the field where community engagement and crowdsourcing were used to support search and rescue efforts during the Syrian earthquake. MethodsThe process was divided into 3 stages: 1- Emergency response, 2- Humanitarian aid response, 3- Systematic response. Data was collected through Google form and mapped on Google Earth. The form was distributed through social media platforms to collect the data from the affected locations.Criteria were developed to validate the data received and confirm the location affected. Confirmed locations were communicated with relevant authorities and the civil community. Resultswithin the first 24 h, 1259 reports on affected locations and collapsed building were received. Data analysis resulted in a map of 129 confirmed locations with 1083 collapsed building. The majority were in Aleppo and Idlib. This process helped organise the search and rescue operations and direct them to correct locations. ConclusionThe present article described using community engagement and crowdsourcing in supporting emergency response and rescue operations to manage the aftermath of the massive earthquake that hit Syria in February 2023. The methodology presented in the article demonstrated the potential of utilising community engagement and crowdsourcing to improve disaster response efforts and outcomes.