I keep being asked how large are the disaster response and disaster technology industries. For many years people not involved in disaster only knew about Red Cross or Salvation Army, even if there were a large amount of organizations that went to a disaster zone to aid survivors. And I am not mentioning government ones here. Just google “disaster response organizations” and besides the common names you will get Americares, VOAD, Samaritan’s Purse, Team Rubicon (best in my opinion), All Hands and Hearts, Cajun Navy and hopefully soon us.
Some organizations will help survivors with clearing forestry to open roads or water canals, others are medical response, some are pharmaceutical response, telecom, power, mental health, clothing, supplies, mucking, house rebuilding, etc. So in a short answer, the industry is huge and growing by the second, especially due to global warming and its effects.
Around 2012 some tech names started to develop incredible software to manage and help, I remember SimulationDeck which is still around, iDawg which was part of Syracuse University but don’t think ever made it. Many went out of business quickly as the costs were to high for most non-profits to bare. Today other new tech firms are emerging and still charging high prices for business and government but have been smart not to charge non-profits in the fields helping or at least give them a big break.
One I personally love is disaster gear. I get an email a day showing me this new knife that will cut any size tree (or so they say), a new boot that will save my toes from being crushed, I loved the baseball cap liner that turns it into a helmet. And my favorite are of course better ways to communicate. I will start writing and reviewing some in later posts.
Companies such as Facebook and Google now have disaster response groups to help with technology for communications and power. And then there are tiny organizations like N2NGO Disaster Response which bring a way for survivors to call loved ones. Medium size ones like Palantir that creates an incredible case management software, Goal Zero which gives out for free lights and small battery banks to survivors.
Like N2NGO and Palantir there are many small/medium organizations around the country that are hospital based, church based, community based. And as we see disaster after disaster, more are appearing from small corners of our country.
I hope this gives you a brief introduction to our industry. In future posts I will detail what each organization does.
Carlos Chiossone
Founder/Director of Operations