Disaster response: Volunteers, unite!

Abstract

Two massive earthquakes that caused 8898 deaths, 22,309 injuries, and billions of dollars damage in Nepal ([ 1 ][1]) prompted substantial support from aid agencies, relief organizations, and volunteers for rescue and relief. Volunteers in scientific communities—affiliated with government, academic, and private research institutions, as well as individual researchers and citizen scientists around the world—provided free satellite imagery, helped map the damage, and analyzed the disaster data ([ 2 ][2]). Nepal has weak data infrastructure and limited scientific capacity. The efforts of science volunteers provided crucial data for rescuers and disaster responders, informed the public about the scale of the damage, and prevented further damage. Scientific volunteerism during crises has emerged spontaneously as the Internet, smartphones, and social media have fueled a feeling of shared responsibility. However, working sporadically in cyberspace might lead to duplication of tasks and an overload of information. Poorly equipped government authorities, as in Nepal, cannot easily find useful information in the gigantic pool of data. The services offered by science volunteers could even make a situation worse. ![Figure][3] Debris surrounds the temple of Seto Machindranath in Jana Bahal 3 months after the Nepal earthquake. PHOTO: RATNAYAKE/REX SHUTTERSTOCK/AP IMAGES Given that the trends of scientific volunteerism have been increasing globally during disasters, from Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines ([ 3 ][4]) to the recent earthquake in Nepal, a global action to systematize these efforts is necessary. Currently, this increasing global trend of volunteerism in scientific communities during natural disasters is not acknowledged in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030—a global framework for disaster risk reduction ([ 4 ][5]). We need a strategy to harness the efforts of scientific volunteers in future. To be better equipped for the next disaster, we should analyze the patterns of science volunteers, including their affiliations and the nature of their involvement; prepare government authorities, especially those in developing countries, to harness invaluable information provided by volunteer scientists; and create a global network of volunteer scientists that could contribute to a coordinated effort. 1. [↵][6]Government of Nepal, Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction Portal ( ). 2. [↵][7]Center for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University, Nepal Earthquake—Geographic Community Response ( ). 3. [↵][8]1. D. Butler , Crowdsourcing goes mainstream in typhoon response, Nature 10.1038/nature.2013.14186 (2013). doi:10.1038/nature.2013.14186 [OpenUrl][9][CrossRef][10] 4. [↵][11]United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction ([www.unisdr.org/we/coordinate/hfa-post2015][12]). [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: pending:yes [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #ref-4 [6]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [7]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [8]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3 in text [9]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DCrowdsourcing%2Bgoes%2Bmainstream%2Bin%2Btyphoon%2Bresponse%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1038%252Fnature.2013.14186%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [10]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1038/nature.2013.14186&link_type=DOI [11]: #xref-ref-4-1 View reference 4 in text [12]: http://www.unisdr.org/we/coordinate/hfa-post2015