ABSTRACT
This is a theoretical essay whose goal is to present possible uses and applications of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the management of natural disasters, especially from the perspective of social networking and crowdsourcing. For this, the examples are emphasizing such investments made in the context of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Immediately after the high magnitude disaster, the use of crowdsourcing tools based on new ICTs enabled the participation of volunteers located in different parts of the planet, in addition to the collaboration of the local population in several response activities such as the construction of maps, the location of the attendance demands by humanitarian organizations, as well as actions aimed at rebuilding the country. Despite still having some limitations, these uses and applications are able to open new communication paths in situations of natural disasters, providing an aggregate situational awareness, increasing the network of volunteers involved in the response actions and expanding the assistance available to victims.
Keywords:
Crowdsourcing; Natural disasters; Social networks; ICTs