UVA Community Holds Mapathon in the Wake of Turkey and Syria Earthquakes

Allison Carter
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Mapathon Turkey and Syria Earthquakes

Seeking ways to help, UVA community members held a "mapathon" in response to the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Watching the devastation and suffering in Turkey and Syria following the recent earthquakes, it was easy to feel powerless to help from afar. But at UVA, the desire to aid in some way inspired a community to come together. Three groups collaborated to host a “mapathon,” where participants plotted changes to the region’s infrastructure on an online map with the goal to help humanitarian efforts happening on the ground navigate and assess the damage.

Held on February 10th by the Environmental Resilience Institute (“ERI”), Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative, twenty participants arrived in Garrett Hall on the Grounds of UVA, and thirty more joined online, to map the state of infrastructure in Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquakes. The goal was simple yet crucial: to add critical data (changes to buildings and roads) to the map for first responders’ use in humanitarian response.

The event was held as part of the Read for Action Humanitarian Book Club. Immaculata (Imma) Mwanja, the Global Projects Associate of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), helped facilitate the event.

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Mapathon for Turkey and Syria

"After devastating disasters so many students approach me and want to find a way to contribute to response efforts,” said Kirsten Gelsdorf, Director of the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative. “Mapathons help show them that financial donations, while critical, are not the only way they can help. When I worked for the United Nations during the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, mapathons, and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap were critical in helping us and the government coordinate relief efforts. It was exciting for me to get to now be on the other side working together with my students and helping to make these maps." 

During the two hours the participants spent on the project together, over 7,000 buildings and 300 kilometers of road were mapped. In that short time, the collective efforts lead to the project being 49% complete by the end of the mapathon.

The work didn’t stop after the event, though. Map contributions continued online, and as of today, 91% of the work is completed. The 2023 Turkey Earthquakes Building Damage Assessment Map, built using data from the mapathon, is now available online.

“I am extremely grateful to the organizers of the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Mapathon,” said participant and Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Virginia, Megan R. Sayyad. “They provided the UVA community an opportunity to contribute to the earthquake relief efforts. Like many others, I had the desire to help beyond making a donation, but I did not know how to go about it given I don't have a background in humanitarian aid. Imma introduced us to mapping at this event. It was totally new to me, but I love that anyone, nearly anywhere in the world, could help with on-the-ground relief at any time despite being thousands of miles away! It really demonstrates the power of technology in connecting people, especially in times of need.”

During natural disasters, timely data and information can be nearly impossible for first responders to assess, yet is also essential to ensuring needed humanitarian aid is provided. Knowing which buildings are damaged, where roads are impassable, and other infrastructure challenges allow the response teams to move with more effectiveness. Yet the sourcing of collapsed buildings and roads cannot simultaneously be gathered and communicated by those in the area activated in response.

Mapping projects of this kind can also, for some, drive home the reality of the true devastation of the region(s) affected by natural disaster. In the instance of the Turkey and Syria earthquakes, it can help to understand the World Bank’s estimate that the earthquakes caused $34.2 billion of direct physical damage. When a team comes together to provide a wide-angle view of the devastation in a way that is thorough yet accurate, such as through the mapathon at UVA, the goal is real-world assistance and impact across the globe.

“It was a fantastic team effort, and you could feel a sense of community forming amongst the in-person attendees and even those of us who joined virtually,” said Sayyad. “It was truly wonderful to see so many members of the UVA community come together to support a community abroad facing a dire situation.”

Anyone who wishes to continue the work and provide information for first responders on the ground in Turkey and Syria is invited to visit the online project site to participate in the project.