Photo via Wiki OpenStreetMap/Nepal earthquake
Photo via Wiki OpenStreetMap/Nepal earthquake

Mapping enthusiasts and those wishing to apply those skills to potentially helping emergency workers in Nepal may want to attend this event tonight.

Maptime Seattle and OpenStreetMap Seattle groups are holding a mapping event this evening in Smith Hall, room 415, at the University of Washington, from 6-9 p.m. Volunteers will be working on HOT, or the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, to map out areas struck by the earthquake to help emergency workers on the ground.

HOT is an international volunteer project to create a “free open-source map of the world,” according to Seattle volunteer Clifford Snow who wrote us about the event. “[HOT] provides maps to emergency workers, especially in places where map data is scarce, out-of-date or rapidly changing…OSM technologies enable volunteers to draw roads, pinpoint communities and mark important facilities from their computers anywhere in the world.”

The group will be using satellite imagery to complete tasks HOT has set out for Nepal. Agencies on the ground then take the mapping data and load it into handheld devices for workers on the ground.

Any questions? You can find more info about tonight’s event via MeetUp Groups for Maptime Seattle or Open StreetMap Seattle.
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