Your thoughts on how we, as GM Local Guides, can help the people who have been impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. Mapping shelter locations is a good start. Also…the sites where FEMA will be setting up Disaster Recovery Centers for those needing assistance.
6 Likes
I am very sorry to hear a huge loss over there because of the hurricane.
Mapping shelter location is also a nice effort to help victims. But this may not work if the areas are out of coverage from internet.
If you have local guide community there then you can join the rescue works going on there with your team. Also you can help the affected people by communicating them with social workers/teams/government. We are the local guide because of our society. So serving the society is the best part of humanity.
Our prayers are always with you. May the situation will get back to normal very soon.
Stay safe and keep helping
1 Like
@AllanNShweky while your idea is noble in concept, as someone who rode out three hurricanes while living in Houston, it can be a futile action. All four of the major US Cellular carriers have suffered in the affected area, as well as the incumbent “landline” internet providers. As a result, service is spotty in many areas (I know, as I have been communicating with some in the affected area) leaving many with no means of looking things up on Google Maps.
Likewise, many of these shelters and aid stations are temporary, and many are being transported there by bus. Most of the time the shelters are identified by the Red Cross by a permanent name, which already exists, i.e. George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas opens tomorrow, and so on. Those locations would not get an additional listing, as they are still being referred to by their primary name, and thus a second listing would only be a duplicate.
Where local guides can help will be the local guides in the affected areas, as they can check on businesses and mark them as closed if they are going to have a long closure to recover from flooding or other damage, so other local residents have a better understanding of what businesses have re-opened and which have not.
For now, those of us from outside the area is hold out hope that they don’t get the additional rain that is currently forecast, stay out of the way of the various groups helping with rescue operations, and let the area recover. I’m certain that once businesses reopen they would appreciate new photos showing off their remodeled location, and of course five-star reviews for their service.
3 Likes
Google has the ability to broadcast emergency message via Maps and Google Search. For situations like this, the best is for Google to broadcast disaster messages to people in the area about sheltas and help centres.
If not already, Google just need to setup a channel for the emergency response teams, so that they can feed data to Google for broadcasting.
If a place need to close due to the disaster, mark it as closed. Leave a review telling about the closure so that people can know more about the situation.
2 Likes
Most of the roads out of Houston neighborhoods are flooded. Be safe if you absolutely must be out on the roads.
2 Likes
Hey folks, I came across Rescue Houston My Map (more information about this map, such as legends etc. can be found in this article). There is a Google Crisis Response for Hurricane Harvey as well, feel free to share it more widely.
4 Likes
Thank you for the links, @JeslynL !
1 Like
Houston Google Local Guide moderator here. Below is my collection of useful links for locals affected by the storm.
https://plus.google.com/+JonathanNassar/posts/fLNVT2R7UMG
I haven’t heard of anyone losing cell data, but I’ve heard of dropped calls, and Comcast internet service is out (one of the major ISPs). Information accessible via smart phone is still useful.
The ‘aftermath’ articles you’ll see in the national media is still premature - some areas still have water levels rising even though the rain moved away yesterday. There are a lot of volunteers helping in the major locations, but I think the worry is where help may come from after the news cycle moves on.
In that vein, nearby cities to the east (Beaumont) and west (Corpus Christi) and many more have been hit very hard and need help as well. The best way to help is probably donations to national charities.
1 Like
مبادرة رائعة جدا أخي @AllanNShweky
لكن للأسف قد لاتكون هناك تغطية جيدة في تلك المناطق ، و المتضررين ليس لديهم الوقت ربما للعمل بها حاليا لأنهم منشغلين بضروفهم.
Just returned from fueling up in Vinton , La. back in Orange to check for supplies at Market Basket on hwy 87.