A 2-way geo-crowdsourcing approach in flood relief coordination and distribution

Abstract

Over recent years, the use of Web 2.0 social platforms and geo-crowdsourcing in disaster management and emergency responses has become common. The emergence of various communication channels has led to abundance of information, but it cannot be used directly by the first responders and flood volunteers in their responses for several reasons. This paper proposes a 2-way geo-crowdsourcing framework to centralise the flood relief distribution channels using mobile geolocation technology. The framework is anticipated to be suitable for use by flood volunteers, including NGOs, private agencies and ad-hoc volunteers, to systematically distribute the relief items to the victims. The lessons learnt from the NGOs previously involved in the volunteer efforts in the 2014 Kelantan massive flood were discussed and become the basis of this framework. The framework could be applied for other studies that seek to support a 2-way communication between netizens and the authorities using a geo-crowdsourcing platform.