Filling the gaps: the potential and limitations of emergent, ICT-enabled organisation in disaster – a case study of the Cajun Army

Abstract

ABSTRACT Most recent research on unaffiliated volunteers in disasters has focused on coordination, integration, and management of labour itself. A less prominent line of research focuses on qualities emergent groups of unaffiliated volunteers can contribute to emergency response or recovery that official organisations may be less equipped to provide, including: organisational agility, flexible problem-solving, and early access to technological expertise and innovation, especially in the domain of information and communication technology (ICT). During recent hurricanes and floods in coastal Louisiana and Texas, groups such as the Cajun Navy utilised Zello – an agile variation of Short Message Service (SMS) that converts a cellphone into a universal walkie talkie – to coordinate emergency response and recovery for disaster victims. This paper analyses the emergence of the volunteer-based ‘Cajun Army’ and its bricoleur-like assemblage of ICT applications like Zello, Facebook, and other media to recruit and coordinate volunteers, manage the recovery needs of disaster victims, and deploy resources in the field. The Cajun Army case study serves as an example of how technological innovation is improvised by the emergent voluntary sector in the midst of crises and can be stabilised for repeated contributions to emergency management.