Marseille edit
Telecommunication and mapping of crisis
In front of sadness images of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy Islands following the passage of Irma hurricane, anonymous or professional citizens of the world mobilized to come for victim help. To mitigate the destructions undergone by the telecommunication system, the radio amateurs of the l’American Radio Relay League broadcast very soon the list of frequencies to be used to contact the people on the affected islands.
For its part, HAND (Hackers Against Natural Disasters) association groups all kinds of technophiles to fight against natural disasters. Their actions are multiple: restore the current by installing solar panels, use Raspberry Pi to supply the minimum of public services… Eventually ambition is to set up a telecommunications network in the whole zone for crisis situations.
It is also necessary to quote the initiative of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap created by the places maps of the disaster in which the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations (NGO) humanitarian workers relate to act. On a base supplied by the great space agencies, maps are enriched by those who would like to participate, including the greenhorns via a validation system.
Zello to communicate
Besides, an application was indicated during the events. Its name is Zello. Launched in Russia in 2007 (it was called Loudtalks), it became Texan in 2011. Shared by more than hundred million users in the world, it allows to communicate orally simultaneously with a large number of people: practice to obtain information and circulate the information. With advice, distribution of hot lines numbers, supporting coordinate organizations…, Zello can be a real gold mine for those who are in need. Such a point that it knew a record success with downloads reaching 7,000 per minute at times. In the case of Harvey hurricane, we have testimonies of anonymous people who, overnight, came to help overtaken local authorities. These people have contributed to save lives.
However, Zello is far from being the panacea to use, it is necessary to have an Internet connection. Yet, the passage of Irma hurricane entailed the training of white zones returning the ineffective application. We are thus far from the walkie-talkie with which it is often compared. The President of the company in which this application was created, Alexey Gavrilov; moreover, from a press release in which he reminds that Zello does not have authority to replace the instructions coming from authorities or relief agencies.
In the trail of Zello, other applications of walkie-talkie knew certain success. So, Voxer offers additional features as the recording of messages (saving if you are overwhelmed), the sending of photos and videos. For his part, HeyTell offers the possibility of changing the vote, of sending some contents on Facebook or e-mails to friends. It also sends alerts: you are then informed when you receive messages without having to open the application.
Finally, it is necessary to quote Bridgefy, less known while she could mitigate Zello defects in emergency case. In fact, this Mexican application allows, in particular, to communicate … off-line! It uses Wi-Fi antenna to send messages directly from a cellular to another one. The impact is then limited to 70 meters. Nevertheless, this feature was particularly useful after the passage of the hurricane Patricia in Mexico in 2015.
The social networks between solidarity and buzz
The social networks played a significant role for the victims and their close friends. As is often the case during natural disasters (catastrophes naturelles) or terrorist attacks since 2014, date put into service, Facebook activated its Safety Check. The device allows the socio-nautes to indicate that they are in safety.
But the Internet users also used the social network in a more original way. So, a Google Doc listing the people who were found or were put in circulation. Groups or pages were launched to be informed about the evolution of the situation or to utter wanted notices, following the example of the page "Support A St Martin/St Barth (Irma hurricane)" on Facebook created by a student of Nice. It serves the relay of information about the evolution of the situation on the ground of mutual aid forum. It is also a place of expression where the Internet user expresses his sadness, his hope or his anger.
Others use these platforms to show or launch calls for help to the authorities. So, Eze, an American on holidays with Martinmas, broadcasted on Twitter a video in which he shows the extent of damage caused by Irma in his house: we notice that a part of the roof was destroyed. On the contrary, users offer spontaneously their help, in any benevolence.
More trivial, the social networks transported their prize of absurd stories which made the buzz. We can quote that of Hector the palm tree near Gustavia harbor, Saint-Barthélemy. Filmed directly by a webcam, it was good in spite of the Irma's devastating power.
A way of keeping smiling in the middle of rubble.
Article written by Thierry Randretsa