This tragedy and disaster in Japan is framed by a moment in technological history. The tsunami waves were recorded from helicopters with cameras, images of the earth shaking office buildings and street signs and the heart wrenching images of the devastation are sweeping the world. Technology has also enabled numerous tools and datasets that have become another way of following what is happening in Japan. Google has set up a crisis response page to help those affected by the crisis. Prem Ramaswami, product manager with Google.org’s crisis response team explains what they have done. Ramaswami says that crisis mapping is key in getting help to those who need it.
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