RPS Modellers participate in Mapathon to aid Morocco and Libya
On 26 September 2023, RPS employees participated in a successful Mapathon with the Institute of Water Education and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, focused on aiding areas impacted by the Moroccan earthquake and Libyan floods.
13 October 2023 | 1 min read
On 26 September 2023, RPS employees participated in a successful Mapathon with the Institute of Water Education and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, focused on aiding areas impacted by the Moroccan earthquake and Libyan floods.
The event, called the IHEUrgentAction Mapathon, utilised data and satellite images from OpenStreetMap, a detailed, open-access map of the world, to map and reconstruct buildings and roads affected by the natural disasters in Morocco and Libya. Hundreds of IHE Delft students, staff, alumni, and other volunteers joined in, eager to help and assist in the humanitarian relief effort.
Nathan Strathdee, Assistant Modeller at RPS, found out about the event from a friend.
“I thought it was something we should be a part of. Mapping, using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is a skill set many people working in this sector of the business use every day for client-based work. What we don’t realise is how transferable those skills are and how they can be used to support humanitarian work and first responders.”
Wastewater Modellers from RPS collaborated across Leeds, Derby and Sheffield to apply their decades of experience and wealth of knowledge at the IHE Urgent Mapathon.
By mapping vulnerable areas that are affected by natural disasters, individuals can contribute to assisting governments and aid organizations in providing better support and relief to people in need.
Mapping helps identify the locations of buildings, roads, water sources, health services, and other essential infrastructure that may be damaged or inaccessible. Mapping can also help monitor the circumstances, plan recovery efforts, and establish a long-term strategy.
Steve Hogg, the Managing Director for Water Consultancy, believes our expertise makes a difference. “At RPS, we regularly use mapping and GIS to solve problems that matter to our client, whether that be modelling sewer flooding and pollution, identifying opportunities for nature-based solutions or survey planning.” Says Steve.
“Being experts in these fields, we provide an approach no one else can. It’s so very important that we apply our skills in a way that we can also give back to the global communities we serve.”
In Libya alone, approximately 1,600 mappers have so far contributed to both campaigns, re-creating visual maps of 220,000 buildings and 5,000km of roads.
The event also offered an insight into how satellite data, combined with open-source mapping by remote and on-the-ground mappers, can aid first-responders in life-saving disaster response operations.
You can explore the extent of the extent of the damage caused by the flooding using this visualiser.
Below is an example of the difference detailed mapping by experts can make;
If you want to help
The Mapping is an ongoing effort which any mapper can participate in. Campaigns in the HOT Tasking Manager are here for Morocco and here for Libya.
In addition to the humanitarian efforts in Morocco and Libya, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap also has campaigns aiding regions affected by disease outbreaks, deforestation, and a plethora of global issues, enabling any individual to make a difference - HOT Tasking Manager (hotosm.org).