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Passengers
at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport remain
stranded, even as
the airport resumes some service after being closed due
to Hurricane Sandy.
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AFP - As
Americans reeled from the aftermath of superstorm Sandy Wednesday, they took to
tweeting, posting and crowdsourcing to mobilize much-needed aid and help those
left without power or food.
The storm
has devastated New York City and New Jersey, killing dozens of people in
several states and swamping miles of coastline, leaving millions without power
and some transport services at a standstill.
On Twitter,
netizens used the hashtags #sandyaid and #sandyvolunteer to ask for relief or
find out where they could help, and crowdsourced maps sprung up online to
locate available wifi spots or places where supplies were available.
"In
east Williamsburg, how can I help?" @honeybaked_sam tweeted, getting a
prompt reply from Brooklyn-based lifetsyle guide @BrooklynExposed, which posted
a link to nearby volunteering opportunities.
Jessica
Lawrence, managing director of NY Tech Meetup -- a non-profit organization that
supports the technology community in New York -- said she had reached out to
her 28,000-plus members through Twitter and Facebook.
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Work crews
from Verizon pump water from an access tunnel in Lower
Manhattan. On Twitter,
netizens used the hashtags #sandyaid and
#sandyvolunteer to ask for relief or
find out where they could help, and
crowdsourced maps sprung up online to
locate available wifi spots or places
where supplies were available.
|
Already 140
tech-savvy people were on standby to help stricken schools, businesses and
other entities to get back on their feet, to help them with tech-related issues
such as data recovery.
But in New
York's lower Manhattan -- particularly hard-hit by the storm -- many of those
in need were still lacking power and Lawrence said the challenge was how to
connect with them, though some were now making their way to places with
electricity and Internet access.
She added
that social networks had been particularly useful to connect with other relief
organizations, and make sure they worked together rather than overlapping in
their efforts.
"I
don't think it would have been nearly as easy without social media," she
said.
Other
organizations used social networks to gather practical information for
storm-stricken people and put them on interactive online maps.
The
Watershed Post, for instance -- an online news source for counties in upstate
New York -- launched a crowdsourced map locating closed or reopened roads,
places to get help or where aid was needed.
Another
crowdsourced map focusing on the New York City area --
https://sandycommsmap.crowdmap.com/main -- located places where free wifi was
available and working.
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