While the rest of us are busy washing our hands, the folks in Nashville, TN and surrounding areas are recovering from damage caused by several tornadoes that touched down on March 2nd and 3rd – while also monitoring COVID-19. Seventy thousand residents lost power, 300 injuries were reported and 25 lives were lost.
We can’t stop these events from happening, but when we respond with the right tools, we can help recovery take place faster.
Above: Tornado damage captured by StEER volunteers.
Among the first organizations to arrive to help document and communicate the damage were StEER (Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance) volunteers armed with Fulcrum. Soon after, New Covenant Social Justice volunteers started a door-to-door campaign using Fulcrum to access damage and survey the needs of residents.
New Covenant has a long-term plan to use the data collected to ensure the needs of the residents are met for months to come. When their director, Dr. Teresa Smallwood, called us, New Covenant’s volunteer teams were going door-to-door with a paper survey. Those surveys had to be brought back to the office and transcribed into their database.
Not any more.
With Fulcrum, they now have those same questions in an app on their cell phone that helps them collect and share the information in real time. It also gives New Covenant the ability to see their volunteers’ location, so they don’t duplicate efforts.
Above: Tornado damage captured by StEER volunteers.
All of this improves the speed and accuracy of the field data they collect, and coordinates better ground communication between volunteer teams and other organizations that provide shelter, medical services, food and other resources.
When lives are at risk, nothing is more important than the ability to share information quickly, regardless of the quality of phone service. Fulcrum gives disaster-response organizations the ability to communicate in real-time or near real-time, even without WiFi.
Are you part of a volunteer team collecting data on public health emergencies like COVID-19 or conducting damage and needs assessments after a natural disaster? Reach out to us.
Fulcrum is a low-code/no-code platform that enables organizations to reduce costs, access critical data in real-time, and improve decision making at every level. With Fulcrum, you can create custom apps using our simple drag-and-drop builder to turn your paper documents into digital forms that your field teams can quickly complete on mobile devices. Our software is available at no cost to humanitarian and volunteer disaster-relief organizations via Fulcrum Community.