Over the course of three hours, a team of 15 to 30 volunteers from across the LexisNexis Risk Solutions organisation in its Dublin office are mapping buildings in the N'Djamena region of Chad. Since 2020, Chad has experienced severe annual flooding, causing considerable damage to livelihoods, homes, schools and health facilities displacing thousands of families. The mapping will aid the work Médecins Sans Frontières are doing in the area in anticipation of new flooding.
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, storms and droughts, result in approximately 100,000 deaths each year and over 200 million people experience displacement, loss of livelihoods or other forms of hardship.
Many of these disasters happen in remote regions of the world that are literally missing from accessible maps. This can leave aid workers and first responders without the critical information they need to deliver aid effectively. The Missing Maps project aims to change that — one map at a time.
This is the seventh time the LexisNexis Risk Solutions team has joined thousands of volunteers worldwide in mapping buildings and roads into OpenStreetMap, helping to create detailed, accurate maps that humanitarian organisations can use to plan disaster response and risk reduction efforts. The participation of the business forms part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Cares, a global community programme supporting employee volunteering and giving that makes a positive impact on society.
Heikki Vesanto, GIS manager, insurance, at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, who has led the annual Mapathon for the past four years, said: “Missing Maps is a great example of the power of data to do good. By working together as a team, leveraging our mapping skills to plot at-risk areas, we are not only building skills and community within our team — we’re also helping to ensure that humanitarian responders have the information they need to save lives. As a business, we have mapped over 30,000 buildings as part of the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Cares initiative, which goes a long way in supporting such worthwhile causes.”
How the Mapathon Works:
1. Remote volunteers trace satellite imagery into OpenStreetMap.
2. Local community members add detail such as street names and landmarks.
3. Humanitarian organisations use the maps to plan and execute relief efforts.
The event is open to all employees regardless of mapping experience. New mappers are guided through a simple learning process, making it easy to contribute in just an afternoon.
Click here for image of the team.
Click here for animation of the process.
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