Conference at GeONG, Chambery, Sept. 23 2013 about OpenStreetMap Response to the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa.

1. OpenStreetMap Response to Humanitarian Crisis
West Africa Ebola Outbreak, 2014 Case
Pierre Béland, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team
GeOnG, Chambéry, 2014-09-23
View from slideshare.net/pierzen

2. OpenStreetMap : An ecosystem for rapid
and efficient intervention
With the OpenStreetMap rapid intervention for Haiyan, Philippines and West Africa
Ebola, this was the defacto Reference map for these international interventions. The
capacity to mobilize international volunteers through Internet assures access to
essential products and services
The Black and white map
- OSM database and Maps
updated to the minute
- Humanitarian style
- Paper Maps + FieldPapers
Maps for field survey
- Offline Android / IOS
- GIS Download
Let's color the map with thematics
We need a change of culture and
adapt to small mobile technology.
What data and how the government
and humanitarians could share with
other organizations ?
Government OpenData to share
administrative limits and other
public data
Humanitarian Organizations
Field Teams Collecting
- infrastructure data
- Locality names
- etc
Coordination with UN and
humanitarians
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap
team makes the bridge with
the humanitarians

3. OSM Crowdsourcing contribution - Task Manager Jobs
Haiyan Typhoon West Africa Ebola, first 6 months
1,600 contributors / 4.5 million objects 1,333 contributors, 7.4 million objects
200 km x 200 km
uMap Data : OpenStreetMap Contributors
Nov-Dec 2013 March – Sept 2014

4. Ebola Outbreak, West Africa, Mar.2014
Mobilisation against
an unprecedented
Ebola epidemic
● Deadly and very
contagious epidemy
● Spreads for the first
time in vast regions
and urban areas
● Mapping helps to :
– Locate people in
contact with infected
persons
– Support economic
recovery

5. West Africa Ebola outbreak Crowdsource map of Monrovia
http://pierzen.dev.openstreetmap.org/hot/leaflet/OSM-Compare-before-after.html#14/6.3306/-10.7866

6. West Africa Ebola outbreak Compare OSM – Google
pierzen.dev.openstreetmap.org/hot/leaflet/OSM-Compare-osm-google.html#14/6.3306/-10.7866

7. Ebola Outbreak Activation Workflow
,
● Identify Areas to map, services to provide, priorities : Coordination with
CartONG / MSF, Red Cross, UN-OCHA, WHO
● Interface with Field GIS officers through CartONG
● Imagery acquisition, processing, host imagery on servers (OSM-Fr, HIU and
Mapbox servers)
● Digitize from Imagery the roads, villages outbounds, buildings
● Data Imports for Administrative limits, Locality names
(OpenData needed)
● Infrastructures data collection : An ecosystem to develop with humanitarians
plus data preparedness programs. ODK the solution?
● Support the Crowdsource mapping effort – Coordination via the Task
Manager, Learning material, Mapathon, Communications
● Daily update for GIS analysis, Mobile devices maps and road navigation. Are
also available : Online Map and Road navigation, Paper maps, FieldPapers

8. The OpenStreetMap response is possible with the
contribution of many volunteers and supporters
● Imagery providers that offer free imagery and hosting
● OSM in general with his infrastructure
● Remote participation of contributors from around the
world
● Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team coordinators that
assure the bridge between the community and the
humanitarian organizations
● The HOT Board and Executive that supports the
coordinator actions
● Support team that takes care of Imagery, Validation,
Imports, learning material
● Developpers

9. West Africa Ebola Outbreak
PPhhaassee 11 MMaarrcchh 2255 –– AApprriill 77
● Rapid mapping of Guéckédou and the
other towns affected
● 5,000 places, 207,000 buildings
AApprriill 88 –– JJuunnee 220 OSM contributors and the
humanitarian GIS in the field enhance the
map
● ++ 11,,000 ppllaacceess,, 3355,,000 bbuuiillddiinnggss
● PPhhaassee 22 ffrroomm JJuunnee 2200
● FFrroomm AAuugguusstt 88 AAtt tthhee rreeqquueesstt ooff WWHHOO aanndd
UUNN--OOCCHHAA,, tthhee OOSSMM ccoommmmuunniittyy aallssoo
ccoonnttrriibbuutteess ttoo tthhee iinntteerrnnaattiioonnaall pprrooggrraamm ooff
aaccttiioonn ttoo ssuuppppoorrtt tthhee ccoouunnttrriieess aaffffeecctteedd
FFrroomm MMaarrcchh 2255 TToo SSeepptt.. 1122
1199,,556600 ppllaacceess,, 559933,,886655 bbuuiillddiinnggss,, 77,,335588,,338844
oobbjjeeccttss
AA zzoonnee ooff mmoorree tthheenn
2200 kkmm xx 2200 kkmm iiss ttrraacceedd
Date Contri-butors
Places Buil-dings
Objects
2014-04-07 403 5,422 206,841 2,072,042
2014-07-01 589 6,927 293,235 3,289,431
2014-09-12 1,333 19,560 593,865 7,358,384
2014-09-22 8,000,000

10. West Africa OSM map progression
we need names to color the map
Object type 2012-02-12 2014-09-12 Variation
Places 1,706 22,478 20,772
Buildings 1,799 652,484 650,685
Highways 21,597 km
32 % with name
111,168 km
8 % with name
89,570 km
Waterways 9,452 km 18,641 km 9189 km
Railways 1,366 km 1,169 km - 196 km

11. West Africa map objects, 2012-09-12
OpenStreetMap, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
Example of Objects in the OSM database, 2014-09-12
Total of Objects
7 577 165
including
Nodes with no tag
(part of other objects)
6 680 184 Half for the buidlings outbound
Others, to trace highway,
waterway, railway, landuse,
etc.
way=Building 643 125
way=highway 144 620
way=landuse 39 994
node=place 22 140

12. Imagery to digitize essential elements
● OSM has free access to all Bing High-res imagery
(50 cm). But coverage is not yet complete in parts of
West-Africa. Imagery acquisition was an important
aspect of this activation
● MSF bought imagery for the first three towns
● All other images have been donated by HIU, MapBox
and Airbus Defense & Space
● Image search, process and hosting was done by
OSM-fr, HIU and Mapbox → TMS servers
● Resolution of 50 cm. for most of the images let's
digitize the buildings
● Imagery of lower Resolution (Spot6, landsat8) was
useful to complete roads and villages outbounds

13. Interface with field teams
● CartONG / MSF have sent in march a GIS
officer in West Africa to support the GIS
needs. With the resurgence of the epidemy in
june, three officers were sent. They provided
us feedback, settlement names corrections
and identification of priorities thus contributing
to a better OSM response

14. Data Imports
● For each new crisis, the problem of importing Settlement place
names, administrative boundaries and vital infrastructures emerge
● Given the limited technical capacities of the administration of many
Development countries, there is often no georeferenced data readily
available about important infrastructures such as hospitals, schools,
features that can be used as shelters.
● When the data is available, there are often Data access limitations
or Licensing problems to use rapidly such data in context of rapid
response to humanitarian needs
● A plan should be developped to support governments in the
development of OpenData that can be shared with humanitarian
organizations in the context of humanitarian crisis
● To assure that such data be imported in OpenStreetMap, the data
should be accessible with standard formats of exchange and there
should be no license restriction for commercial use

15. West Africa OSM map progression
We need names to color the map
Object type 2012-02-12 2014-09-12 Variation
Places 1,706 22,478 20,772
Buildings 1,799 652,484 650,685
Highways 21,597 km
32 % with name
111,168 km
8 % with name
89,570 km
Waterways 9,452 km 18,641 km 9189 km
Railways 1,366 km 1,169 km - 196 km

16. Infrastructures data collection
● A lot of efforts are made by various organizations, coordinating with OCHA
and other actors to provide geolocated data. The process is complex and
there are licensing issues
● Collecting the data in emergency context, licenses issues are not
considered. ODK Data collection Forms could be used to feed OSM
● OSM offers the possibility to develop an ecosystem very flexible where
various organizations can collaborate, add edit sharable data Plan for
other activations
● A Plan should be implemented to assure that the Data collection is better
systematized and sharable
– Data collection methods should assure to license as OpenData (avoid
using commercial geolocation tools)
– New mobile devices offer new possibilities. The humanitarian
organizations should plan to collect and share as OpenData
– The possibility to share data stored on OpenStreetMap should be
examined
– OSM edit tools and Data Collection Forms for Mobile devices should
be adapted to facilitate collection of humanitarian sharable data

17. Global Ebola Response Coalition
A vast Plan of support of national governments is underway
UN agencies, NGOs and other partners as they work on
healthcare, food security, sanitation and protection
issues need accurate and detailed geographic data
● The international organizations recognize OpenStreetMap as
the more detailed and accurate basemap
● OSM place names will be used as the base for the
Settlements database with unique ID pcodes
● WHO boundaries will be used as the basis of the
Administrative boundary with unique ID pcodes
● For OSM, License restrictions limit the capacity to bring rapidly
more accurate data and support the humanitarian
organizations

18. Support to Crowdsource mapping initiatives
● Mapping : Task Manager to coordinate / distribute tasks
● Validation
– Task Manager to revise what's traced in a given square
– Wiki pages to support validators
– Osmose and similar Tools : Verify / correct suspected errors
(routing, invalid tags,etc)
● Training material
– Learnosm.org
– Wiki pages for instructions how to map specific features
● Communication channels : Email discussions, IRC, Mumble,
HOT Update

19. OpenStreetMap crowdsource effort
Analysis of the contributors profile
OSM Experience of contributors from creation date of their account
New contributor – Account opened after Mar.25 2014
0-5 months
6-12 months
13-23 months
24 months and plus
The various Diagrams will show the increasing participation of new
contributors has the Activation goes on
39% of contributors 18.5% of total contributions
Over the last month, increasing participation with nearly 50% of
contributions in the last few weeks
Motivating for the new contributors to start participating to OSM

20. Crowdsourcing :Profile of Contribution Mar.25 – Sept 12 2014
Experience with OSM estimated from the Creation date of the account
Interesting to follow the New Contributors (account opened after Mar.25)

21. Many mappers with 1-2 days. How to retain them ?
46 +
'31-45
'15-30
08-14
03-07
01-02
West Africa Ebola Outbreak, Profile of contribution, 2014-04-25 -- 09-12
Objects edited by months of Activity with OSM before the Outbreak and days of contribution
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
24 + months
12-23 months
6-11 months
0-5 months
New contributors
Number of Contributors
Activity in OSM

22. Most contributions comes from less then 300 contributors
46 +
'31-45
'15-30
08-14
03-07
01-02
West Africa Ebola Outbreak Contribution, 2014-03-25 to 09-12
Objects edited
0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 1200000 1400000 1600000 1800000 2000000
24 + months
12-23 months
6-11 months
0-5 months
New contributors
Days of contribution to the Activation
Profile : Days of participation to the Ebola Activation / Months of contribution before the Outbreak

23. Weekly progression Phase 1 (1-4), Phase 2 from week 14 → New contributors
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1400000
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
Objects edited by week
OSM account before Activation (months)
24 +
'12-<24
'06-<12
'01-<6
-0
M A M J J A S

24. % of weekly edit contribution by Duration of OSM contrib before the Activation
●
→ Significant participation of New Contributors
●

25. Cumulative objects Created → Sept 22, 8 Millions
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
8000000
7000000
6000000
5000000
4000000
3000000
2000000
1000000
0
Cumulative objects edited by week
OSM account before the Activation (months)
24 +
'12-<24
'06-<12
'01-<6
none
M A M J J A S

26. Haiyan Typhoon Nov.8 2013
Possibly the most powerful storm ever recorded in history. For the
teams that prepare to deploy :
► Urgent need of Geospatial data : Base Map + Damage Assessment
► A large territory with many remote islands and villages
Ph,oto theguardian.com

27. HHaaiiyyaann TTyypphhoooonn OOppeennSSttrreeeettMMaapp RReessppoonnssee
Despite the lack of information and difficulty to coordinate, The first days of the
Activation, quick answer from OSM, both crowdsourcing and developpers
● Digitize the Base Map and start Damage assessment for Tacloban
● OSM Extracts for GIS Analysis, GPS and Android smartphones
(daily / hourly updates)
● Adapt the Map Style and products for damage assessment
● 10 days after the typhoon
Humanitarian Map Style and Products available with Damaged buildings (orange)
and Collapsed buildings (red)
● All derived maps can use it
● FieldPapers Paper Maps with grid for field survey,
● MapOSMatic Large Paper Maps with grid, street index and POI and
● Osmose Validation / Correction tool.
● Maps to support field survey, to detect zones with infrastructures at risk
● Truck drivers find new roads when road blockages / Debris
● OSM database and Maps updated to the minute

28. Haiyan Typhoon Damage Assessments was not succesful
because of technical limits. How to do better next time?
UNOSAT, European Copernicus, OpenStreetMap and probably other groups
● Coordination of the various groups, both UNOSAT, Copernicus, OpenStreetMap
and others, common methodology, distribution of areas to map
● Account for the limits of aerial imagery. Assessment from imagery is a first step to
prioritize the areas of intervention
● Field assessment is necessary to evaluate individual buildings
● Assure to have both Pre and Post Imagery for all the areas to cover, ideally both
from the same source (better alignment of features)
● In the context of a meteo related disaster, Imagery of 50 cm of poor quality do not
let evaluate with high precision the damages
► Necessity to coordinate and prepare before disasters, have clear methodology,
goals and coordination between the various organizations; this was already
proposed after Haiti
Rapid access to Imagery Archive Catalogs of Imagery Providers for better response
For more granularity and flexibility, Civil Drone or Oblique images could come to the
rescue

29. Assessing damages in the context of weather
related disasters
Post-disaster image, Tacloban
taken in bad weather conditions
DigitalGlobe, 50 cm
Post-disaster image, Tacloban
flight at some 150 meters,
under the cloud coverage
Civil Drone, 4cm

30. Tacloban, Civil Drone, Post-Disaster DETAIL

31. OpenStreetMap Tools and Services
In the context of Activations

32. Tasking Manager Organizing the Mapping effort
● Partition the effort / Control simultaneous access
● Instructions, links to editors
● Confirm completion / Validate / Invalidate
● Assures complete coverage; Monitors progress
● Follow contributors
Crowdsourced
volunteer efforts
work most
efficiently when
there is an
organizing force
behind the work
www.e-education.
psu.edu

33. Tasking Manager – tasks.hotosm.org
Interacts with Editor tools
◄ Square highlights
zone to map
Automatic download
of existing data
JOSM
RemoteControl

34. ID : Online easy editing

35. OpenStreetMap
Humanitarian Style
Transport Style ---> Minimal

36. Osmose : Quality control

37. Query Tools : Overpass Service, Building
and Road status visualization using
Overpass OSM Extract Queries
http://overpass-turbo.eu/s/1xj
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Damaged_buildings_crisis
_mapping

38. HOT Exports
● Exports in various formats for Gis Analysis

39. Derived OSM Maps OSM layers are
integrated in various products

40. IOM personal Joe Lowry CCBYSA2.0
http://flic.kr/p/hHMxee
“You should see people's faces light
up when we arrive with a load of
OpenStreetMap posters”
Dale Kunce – American Red Cross
American Red Cross. Used with permission
https://twitter.com/RedCross/status/401088520481042432

41. Impact Maps (Ushahidi or the like)
Visov https://haiyan.crowdmap.com/

42. Haiyan Typhoon Navigation data
Robert Banick, Red Cross
“When I was in Tacloban, I ran into a Red
Cross team handing out relief supplies. They
told me that OpenStreetMap—which we
loaded onto their GPS devices as they
deployed—was super useful. The maps saved
them from getting lost or wasting time when
they had to reroute off damaged roads. They
were able to give directions to Filipino drivers.
It all leads to more efficient delivery of supplies
to people affected by Typhoon Haiyan.”

43. Wireless tools
OSMTracker for Android
● Download OSM Background
● Edit Offline, save tracks, update with JOSM
● add note

44. Wireless tools
OsmAnd, Route Details

45. Ebola Outbreak Wiki coordination
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/2014_West_Africa_Ebola_Response

46. OpenStreetMap Tools and Services
In the context of Activations

47. OpenStreetMap Tools and Services
In the context of Activations

48. Ebola Outbreak Crowdsourcing
Contributor follow-up

49. West Africa Ebola Outbreak
OpenStreetMap Export Services – Daily updates

50. Crowdsourcing geospatial data
Haiti , 2010 (600 mappers, 1.3 million objects approx.)
Philippines, Nov.2013 (1,600 mappers, 4.5 million objects)
Ebola Outbreak, West Africa, Mar.25 – Sept.12 2014
(1,333 mappers, 7,358,384 objects)
→ 8 Millions objects Sept.22
● Extracts for GIS Analysis : Daily updates
● Navigation data for rescue teams : Daily updates
(Garmin and OSMAnd Android)
● MSF ►Geospatial tools should be part of the answer
for future epidemics

51. West Africa Ebola Outbreak, from March 2014
Response Coordination and support
● Pierre Béland amd Andrew Buck; Jean-Guilhem Cailton for imagery
support; support team for various actions
● Coordination with CartONG/MSF, Red Cross, WHO, UN-OCHA and DHN
partners
● Support from HIU, MapBox, Airbus Defense&Space for imagery requests
● Support from the OSM community, developpers and contributors