Open Source Homeland

Someday we won’t consider any part of this a failure.

Social media play key role in Boulder fire – Lost Remote.

When the Boulder Sheriff’s emergency alert system failed, its emergency operations center asked that residents use Twitter and Facebook to help spread the word of mandatory evacuations, reports the Boulder Channel 1 Blog. The hashtag #boulderfire has become a lifeline of sorts for many looking for the latest information on the fire, as well as people and businesses offering to help evacuees.

Strong Angel III | Strong Angel III
THE DEMONSTRATION

What will happen? Organizations and individuals participating in Strong Angel III are volunteering their time and resources to explore innovations in humanitarian response capabilities. This is not a trade show or a technology fair, with vendor booths, demos, and product literature. Nor is it an Exercise in the usual sense, with teams of first responders and a highly-scripted scenario. Instead, SA-III will focus on simulating those aspects of post-disaster conditions that specifically impact communication, information sharing, and coordination. The week-long demonstration will consist of a series of collaborative technical and non-technical experiments based on both lessons learned in past disasters and on emerging requirements for integrated operations. They are designed to test the interoperability, reliability, and flexibility of proposed social and technical solutions. Strong Angel III is a chance for vendors, humanitarian practitioners, First Responders, the military, and community leaders to explore capabilities, inter-operability, usability, and deployment with the specific intent that the solutions proposed be accessible globally. Strong Angel will provide an adverse environment designed to maximize learning, sharing and experimentation.

The media loves these kinds of “silly-thing-was-important” stories, but mass text messaging from an emergency can serve a huge purpose in recovery effort (“careful– there’s gas leaks everywhere, “there’s a pocket of air in the bulkhead”, “approach fromthe left”, etc.)

OMG: Text messaging an important part of response – Yahoo News
Snodgrass was one of the last people off the plane. He told The Herald of Rock Hill that he called his wife as he stood in shin-deep water on the wing, waiting to be rescued. She was distraught, watching television and fearing the worst after getting that text message, but all was well.

Good roundup of links for disaster prep:

The Fix – Getting Ready at Home in Case Disaster Strikes – NYTimes.com
So emergency organizations are beefing up efforts to make sure that homeowners and renters are prepared if disaster strikes. As troubling as that prospect is, the programs — from information services to technological advances involving e-mail alerts and text messages — aim to at least make people think about the possibility of an emergency and what to do at home should one arise.

 The inevitable “new technology + terrorists” story:

ABC News: Spy Fears: Twitter Terrorists, Cell Phone Jihadists
Report Says Militants Haven’t Used Twitter to Launch Attacks but Lays Out Possible Scenarios