QuickResponseHost: Enabling crowdsourced disaster response stations

Abstract

Following a disaster, there are generally many volunteers willing and able to help those affected. While volunteers can quickly contribute in terms of donations and aid collection, their ability to help further is limited by the complexity of tasks. While technologies exist for volunteers to be able to set up and assist in disaster response data collection and management systems, they require a certain amount of technical knowledge which a large segment of volunteers may lack. Moreover, the need to learn such systems within a small time frame may pose a challenge if systems work and appear differently from those being used in day-to-day life. This paper presents QuickResponseHost, an information system that enables volunteers to quickly host their own disaster response systems and begin helping those nearby without having extensive technical knowledge. The interface of this system has been designed to make sure that the task of creating a response station is as simple as downloading an executable program. These distributed base stations allow volunteers to report injuries, missing reports, resources, etc. The stations function offline and synchronize data with a central server when connected. With an intentionally designed user interface and multiple layers of abstraction, QuickResponseHost makes any volunteer with a laptop computer capable of participating in the recovery process.