From: Subject: News - A New Tool For Relief Operations in Pakistan Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 08:25:06 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C5D54F.C693E100" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C5D54F.C693E100 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20689026~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html =EF=BB=BF News - A New Tool For = Relief Operations in Pakistan

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A New Tool For Relief Operations in=20 Pakistan

Online Resources
Pakistan=20 Website
Hazard=20 Risk Management
RISE
World Bank Press=20 = Release

October 19, 2005 =E2=80=94 = As relief=20 operations continue in Pakistan, a new website = has just=20 been launched to help coordinate emergency = assistance to=20 the hundreds of thousands of people in need of = aid.

The website - http://www.risepak.com/=20 - is the result of a collaborative effort = between people=20 from the World Bank, the Government of Pakistan, = academic institutions in the United States and = Pakistan,=20 as well as private enterprise.

RISE stands for Relief and Information = Systems for=20 Earthquakes Pakistan.

"The new website is like a command center = information=20 tool for relief operations," says Jishnu Das, an = economist with the Bank's Development Research=20 Group.

Das, along with colleague, Tara Vishwanath, a = lead=20 economist in the World Bank's South Asia region, = were=20 prime instigators behind the new website = designed to=20 provide information on damage and relief = operations at=20 the village level in Pakistan.

The website http://www.risepak.com/=20 aims to give maps and the latest up to date = information=20 on some 4,000 villages affected by the = earthquake -=20 providing data about the villages' population = and=20 infrastructure such as roads and schools prior = to the=20 disaster.

A collaborative = effort, the=20 new website will allow monitoring of = damage=20 caused by the quake, as well as track = needs and=20 supplies at the village=20 = level.

But it goes one step future - aiming to = provide up to=20 date information about the situation at the = village=20 level after the earthquake such as those = injured,=20 needing medical assistance and what supplies = like tents=20 have been given to villages.

In an innovative move, the website is = designed to=20 allow the government, army relief operations, = donors,=20 and nongovernment organizations working as part = of the=20 relief effort to supply information about their = work on=20 the ground at the village level.

"When major natural disaster events happen, = there is=20 an immediate need for estimates of damage to = people and=20 infrastructure, which helps target and = coordinate=20 emergency relief," says Piet Buys, the = geographical=20 information systems expert at the Bank.

"The website features spatial population maps = allowing us to integrate existing data from = censuses,=20 satellites, and topographic maps with = information that=20 comes back from the field," he says.

Das says at the moment, most of the = information about=20 the quake's impact is only available at a = district=20 level.

"There is no system which allows people to = figure out=20 which specific villages have been reached or how = they're=20 affected," he says. "Most of these affected = villages are=20 in rural areas. This will help ensure that all = villages=20 are on everyone's radar screens."

The website has been set up so that = information from=20 even the most remote village can appear in less = than=20 eight hours.

As part of the collaborative effort, the = website was=20 designed by Pakistan's largest internet = provider, World=20 Online, which operates under the brand name, = WOL.

"In many disasters coordination is the = biggest=20 obstacle. We have the technology that can change = that.=20 We can get this right," says Aamer Manzoor, = co-founder=20 and vice-president of World Online.

"An information chain that starts on foot = might=20 connect to a relief worker with a cell phone and = appear=20 on the RISE portal within eight hours."

It's an achievement that's possible given the = collaborative efforts as well from the Lahore = University=20 of Management Services, LUMS, which has students = working=20 to input the data onto the website.

"This has been an amazing spontaneous effort = that's=20 taken on a life of its own," Vishwanath = says.

She says it was initially a conversation with = her=20 World Bank colleague, Jinshu Das, and two = experts,=20 Professor Asim Ijaz Khwaja of the Kennedy School = of=20 Government, Harvard University, and Professor = Tahir=20 Andrabi of Pomona College, that led to the = website's=20 creation.

Pakistan's National Database and Registration = Authority, known as NADRA, has also supported = the=20 website, by supplying geographical data. That's = then=20 been linked with the latest census from Pakistan = and=20 data from the Bank to give the most up to date=20 information available on villages affected by = the=20 quake.

Donors, nongovernment organizations as well = as the=20 government and army relief workers are being = urged to=20 supply information to help ensure the new = website is up=20 to date.

Professor Andrabi says there are various = means by=20 which the information can be passed on.

"People can provide information by directly = uploading=20 the data on http://www.risepak.com/,=20 sending us text messages, faxes, emails, or even = by=20 phone," he says.

Vishwanath says the website has support from = the=20 Government of Pakistan, as well as from the = World Bank's=20 Country Director for Pakistan, John Wall.

"This spontaneous collaboration has become = much=20 bigger than just a few people," she says.

"People came together and everyone quickly = realized=20 the promise of such a website."

John Wall says at the moment everyone = involved in the=20 website is "running on adrenalin."

"We all need to ensure that the portal = remains an=20 important link to long-term reconstruction = efforts in=20 Pakistan," he says.

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