New technology is being put to use to help disaster relief during the crisis after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. This new social media technology is being used to scan different sites to gather research on where relief is needed the most. Social media disaster relief is the newest way to use social media mediums to help send aid to different parts of the world through geotagging and more.

Patrick Meier, director of social innovation at the Qatar Foundation’s Computing Research Institute in Qatar, is a pioneer in the industry. He creates online programs that can rapidly sort through data to collect specified research.

Meier is using his tools to figure out where resources and relief is needed most in the Phillipines after the disastrous typhoon hit. Thousands without food, water, and missing family members.

Meier previously created the website “Micromappers” that would load information to a map, to show where it was coming from. Now, he has created “Crisis Mapper” that will upload social media posts from areas affected by the typhoon. This way, Meier can use social media as a mapping tool to help locate where people are in need.

This tool will not only be helpful if survivors have access to internet (which most won’t), but will collect all information on the internet that is related to the typhoon and the path of destruction that it has left. Therefore, news sources like CNN, New York Times, and more can help geo locate where assistance is needed based on their articles and research.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131108-typhoon-haiyan-philippines-crisis-mapping/