After Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake, some of Chile’s most pressing material needs are emergency field hospitals, pontoon bridges, generators and water purification tablets. Interestingly, many different reports have highlighted that telecommunications equipment such as online mapping, satellite phones and even social networking sites are extremely important.
The Ushahidi platform, one online mapping tool, is used to collect information sent via email, SMS, and Twitter and to plot them on a map of Chile. Messages include those sent by people trapped in the rubble of buildings across Chile. Swiftriver is a complementary tool used to filter and ensure the accuracy of information flowing in from Twitter and other internet sites. Similarly, SMS Turk is a program used to translate information from text messages and send it out to volunteers working on the ground. SMS Turk was extensively used in Haiti this past January.
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton remarked on the important role of telecommunications in the Chilean relief effort. “On Monday, a seven-year-old girl and two women were pulled from the rubble of a collapsed supermarket by an American search-and-rescue team after they sent a text message calling for help,” she said.
Man expect the recovery to proceed better in Chile, which is a more-developed country whose government is better able to respond to the crisis. But, it should be remembered that according to gross domestic product measures by the International Monetary Fund, Chile ranks 46 out of 179 countries with data. This puts it behind such countries as Nigeria, Colombia, South Africa and India. 2.4% of the population lives on less than a $1.25 per day—17% of the population lives below the national poverty line, estimates the United Nations Development Programme. Given these realities, Chile still requires international cooperation to pull itself out of crises with the least amount of risk to its population.
The total death toll has risen to 795 with 1.5 million people displaced by the natural disaster. Most of the deaths from the tsunamis that followed less than half an hour after the earthquake occurred on the south-central coast. Homes were destroyed and children barely escaped by climbing trees. However, the World Health Organization expects the numbers to climb as telecommunications infrastructures are repaired and more contact is made with difficult-to-reach communities.