RALEIGH, N.C. — In a disaster like Hurricane Florence , when emergency responders need to pinpoint trouble spots where people need to be rescued, other relief agencies that offer long-term help need to know where evacuees fled to escape the danger. Some of those charities are using a disaster mapping tool recently developed by Facebook to help do that in North Carolina. Direct Relief serves about 100 health centres in the two Carolinas and 1,300 nationwide. “We can deploy relief where people are going, not necessarily where people have left,” said Andrew Schroder, director of research and analysis for Direct Relief. Facebook announced the initiative last year for organizations such as Direct Relief, American Red Cross and Net Hope.

Source: National Post September 18, 2018 20:15 UTC