1 00:00:03,461 --> 00:00:05,772 Newscaster: There's a large path of destruction here in town. 2 00:00:05,772 --> 00:00:08,972 ... hit here pulling trees from the ground, shattering windows, 3 00:00:08,972 --> 00:00:12,052 taking the roofs off of homes. 4 00:00:12,052 --> 00:00:14,290 Caitria O'Neill: That was me 5 00:00:14,290 --> 00:00:17,552 in front of our house in Monson, Massachusetts last June. 6 00:00:17,552 --> 00:00:20,852 After an EF3 tornado ripped straight through our town 7 00:00:20,852 --> 00:00:22,685 and took parts of our roof off, 8 00:00:22,685 --> 00:00:24,754 I decided to stay in Massachusetts 9 00:00:24,754 --> 00:00:26,521 instead of pursuing the master's program 10 00:00:26,521 --> 00:00:29,506 I had moved my boxes home that afternoon for. 11 00:00:29,506 --> 00:00:32,490 Morgan O'Neill: So, on June 1st we weren't disaster experts, 12 00:00:32,490 --> 00:00:34,654 but on June 3rd we started faking it. 13 00:00:34,654 --> 00:00:36,888 This experience changed our lives. 14 00:00:36,888 --> 00:00:38,755 And now we're trying to change the experience. 15 00:00:38,755 --> 00:00:41,129 CO: So tornadoes don't happen in Massachusetts. 16 00:00:41,129 --> 00:00:43,329 And I was cleverly standing in the front yard 17 00:00:43,329 --> 00:00:44,843 when one came over the hill. 18 00:00:44,843 --> 00:00:48,027 After a lamppost flew by, my family and I sprinted into the basement. 19 00:00:48,027 --> 00:00:51,078 Trees were thrown against the house, the windows exploded. 20 00:00:51,078 --> 00:00:52,760 When we finally got out the back door, 21 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,144 transformers were burning in the street. 22 00:00:55,144 --> 00:00:56,945 MO: So I was here in Boston. 23 00:00:56,945 --> 00:00:58,977 I'm a PhD student at MIT, 24 00:00:58,977 --> 00:01:01,093 and I happen to study atmospheric science. 25 00:01:01,093 --> 00:01:02,927 Actually it gets weirder. 26 00:01:02,927 --> 00:01:06,111 So I was in the museum of science at the time the tornado hit, 27 00:01:06,111 --> 00:01:08,227 playing with the tornado display. 28 00:01:08,227 --> 00:01:10,127 So I missed her call. 29 00:01:10,127 --> 00:01:12,127 So I get the call from Caitria, I hear the news, 30 00:01:12,127 --> 00:01:13,875 and I start tracking the radar online 31 00:01:13,875 --> 00:01:17,216 to call the family back when another supercell was forming in their area. 32 00:01:17,216 --> 00:01:20,014 And I drove home late that night with batteries and ice. 33 00:01:20,014 --> 00:01:22,381 We live across the street from an historic church 34 00:01:22,381 --> 00:01:24,897 that had lost its very iconic steeple in the storm. 35 00:01:24,897 --> 00:01:27,299 It had become a community gathering place overnight. 36 00:01:27,299 --> 00:01:30,231 The town hall and the police department had also suffered direct hits, 37 00:01:30,231 --> 00:01:33,397 and so people wanting to help or needing information 38 00:01:33,397 --> 00:01:34,502 went to the church. 39 00:01:34,502 --> 00:01:37,145 CO: We walked up to the church because we heard that they had hot meals, 40 00:01:37,145 --> 00:01:39,112 but when we arrived we found problems. 41 00:01:39,112 --> 00:01:41,478 There were a couple large, sweaty men with chainsaws 42 00:01:41,478 --> 00:01:43,096 standing in the center of the church, 43 00:01:43,096 --> 00:01:44,713 but nobody knew where to send them 44 00:01:44,713 --> 00:01:46,680 because no one knew the extent of the damage yet. 45 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,097 And as we watched, they became frustrated and left 46 00:01:49,097 --> 00:01:51,263 to go find somebody to help on their own. 47 00:01:51,263 --> 00:01:52,532 MO: So we started organizing. 48 00:01:52,532 --> 00:01:55,679 Why? It had to be done. We found Pastor Bob 49 00:01:55,681 --> 00:01:57,765 and offered to give the response some infrastructure. 50 00:01:57,765 --> 00:02:01,065 And then armed with just two laptops and one AirCard, 51 00:02:01,065 --> 00:02:07,078 we built a recovery machine. 52 00:02:07,078 --> 00:02:08,106 (Applause) 53 00:02:08,106 --> 00:02:09,316 CO: That was a tornado, 54 00:02:09,316 --> 00:02:12,315 and everyone's heading to the church to drop things off and volunteer. 55 00:02:12,315 --> 00:02:14,032 MO: Everyone's donating clothing. 56 00:02:14,032 --> 00:02:16,366 We should really inventory the donations that are piling up here. 57 00:02:16,366 --> 00:02:19,148 CO: Yeah, and we need a hotline. Can you make a Google Voice number? 58 00:02:19,148 --> 00:02:21,336 MO: Yeah, sure. And we need to tell people what not to bring. 59 00:02:21,336 --> 00:02:24,920 I'll make a Facebook account. Can you print fliers for the neighborhoods? 60 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:27,436 CO: Yeah, but we don't even know what houses are accepting help at this point. 61 00:02:27,436 --> 00:02:29,287 We need to canvas and send out volunteers. 62 00:02:29,287 --> 00:02:30,989 MO: We need to tell people what not to bring. 63 00:02:30,989 --> 00:02:32,986 Hey, there's a news truck. I'll tell them. 64 00:02:32,986 --> 00:02:35,092 CO: You got my number off the news? 65 00:02:35,092 --> 00:02:37,227 We don't need any more freezers. 66 00:02:37,227 --> 00:02:40,366 MO: The insurance won't cover it? You need a crew to tar your roof? CO: Six packs of juice boxes arriving in one hour? 67 00:02:40,366 --> 00:02:42,190 Together: Someone get me Post-its! 68 00:02:42,190 --> 00:02:43,035 (Laughter) 69 00:02:43,035 --> 00:02:45,293 CO: And then the rest of the community figured out 70 00:02:45,293 --> 00:02:46,625 that we had answers. 71 00:02:46,625 --> 00:02:48,759 MO: I can donate three water heaters, 72 00:02:48,759 --> 00:02:50,440 but someone needs to come pick them up. 73 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:51,960 CO: My car is in my living room. 74 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,941 MO: My boyscout troop would like to rebuild 12 mailboxes. 75 00:02:54,941 --> 00:02:58,208 CO: The puppy's missing, and insurance just doesn't cover the chimneys. 76 00:02:58,208 --> 00:03:01,407 MO: My church group of 50 would like housing and meals for a week 77 00:03:01,407 --> 00:03:02,858 while we repair properties. 78 00:03:02,858 --> 00:03:05,093 CO: You sent me to that place on Washington Street yesterday, 79 00:03:05,093 --> 00:03:06,925 and now I'm covered in poison ivy. 80 00:03:06,925 --> 00:03:09,932 So this is what filled our days. 81 00:03:09,932 --> 00:03:12,279 We had to learn how to answer questions quickly 82 00:03:12,279 --> 00:03:14,547 and to solve problems in about a minute or less, 83 00:03:14,547 --> 00:03:16,898 because otherwise something more urgent would come up, 84 00:03:16,898 --> 00:03:18,247 and it just wouldn't get done. 85 00:03:18,247 --> 00:03:20,630 MO: We didn't get our authority from the board of selectmen 86 00:03:20,630 --> 00:03:23,831 or the emergency management director or the United Way. 87 00:03:23,831 --> 00:03:26,730 We just started answering questions and making decisions 88 00:03:26,730 --> 00:03:29,230 because someone, anyone, had to. 89 00:03:29,230 --> 00:03:31,646 And why not me? I'm a campaign organizer. 90 00:03:31,646 --> 00:03:32,729 I'm good at Facebook. 91 00:03:32,729 --> 00:03:33,880 And there's two of me. 92 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:35,080 (Laughter) 93 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,297 CO: The point is, if there's a flood or a fire or a hurricane, 94 00:03:39,297 --> 00:03:40,896 you, or somebody like you, 95 00:03:40,896 --> 00:03:42,929 are going to step up and start organizing things. 96 00:03:42,929 --> 00:03:45,598 The other point is that it is hard. 97 00:03:45,598 --> 00:03:48,729 MO: Lying on the ground after another 17-hour day, 98 00:03:48,729 --> 00:03:50,312 Caitria and I would empty our pockets 99 00:03:50,312 --> 00:03:53,396 and try to place dozens of scraps of paper into context -- 100 00:03:53,396 --> 00:03:56,229 all bits of information that had to be remembered and matched 101 00:03:56,229 --> 00:03:57,480 in order to help someone. 102 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,346 After another day and a shower at the shelter, 103 00:03:59,346 --> 00:04:01,797 we realized it shouldn't be this hard. 104 00:04:01,797 --> 00:04:03,012 CO: In a country like ours 105 00:04:03,012 --> 00:04:04,612 where we breathe wi-fi, 106 00:04:04,612 --> 00:04:08,333 leveraging technology for a faster recovery should be a no-brainer. 107 00:04:08,333 --> 00:04:10,864 Systems like the ones that we were creating on the fly 108 00:04:10,864 --> 00:04:12,201 could exist ahead of time. 109 00:04:12,201 --> 00:04:13,853 And if some community member 110 00:04:13,853 --> 00:04:18,067 is in this organizing position in every area after every disaster, 111 00:04:18,067 --> 00:04:20,184 these tools should exist. 112 00:04:20,184 --> 00:04:22,700 MO: So we decided to build them -- 113 00:04:22,700 --> 00:04:23,966 a recovery in a box, 114 00:04:23,966 --> 00:04:26,267 something that could be deployed after every disaster 115 00:04:26,267 --> 00:04:27,892 by any local organizer. 116 00:04:27,892 --> 00:04:29,549 CO: I decided to stay in the country, 117 00:04:29,549 --> 00:04:31,250 give up the master's in Moscow 118 00:04:31,250 --> 00:04:33,517 and to work full-time to make this happen. 119 00:04:33,517 --> 00:04:35,017 In the course of the past year, 120 00:04:35,017 --> 00:04:38,500 we've become experts in the field of community-powered disaster recovery. 121 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:40,717 And there are three main problems that we've observed 122 00:04:40,717 --> 00:04:43,608 with the way things work currently. 123 00:04:43,608 --> 00:04:46,308 MO: The tools. Large aid organizations are exceptional 124 00:04:46,308 --> 00:04:49,083 at bringing massive resources to bear after a disaster, 125 00:04:49,083 --> 00:04:51,734 but they often fulfill very specific missions 126 00:04:51,734 --> 00:04:52,984 and then they leave. 127 00:04:52,984 --> 00:04:54,984 This leaves local residents to deal 128 00:04:54,984 --> 00:04:58,487 with the thousands of spontaneous volunteers, thousands of donations, 129 00:04:58,487 --> 00:05:00,292 and all with no training and no tools. 130 00:05:00,292 --> 00:05:03,192 So they use Post-its or Excel or Facebook. 131 00:05:03,192 --> 00:05:06,426 But none of these tools allow you to value high-priority information 132 00:05:06,426 --> 00:05:09,091 amidst all of the photos and well wishes. 133 00:05:09,091 --> 00:05:10,357 CO: The timing. 134 00:05:10,357 --> 00:05:13,841 Disaster relief is essentially a backwards political campaign. 135 00:05:13,841 --> 00:05:15,073 In a political campaign, 136 00:05:15,073 --> 00:05:18,741 you start with no interest and no capacity to turn that into action. 137 00:05:18,741 --> 00:05:20,109 You build both gradually 138 00:05:20,109 --> 00:05:23,060 until a moment of peak mobilization at the time of the election. 139 00:05:23,060 --> 00:05:25,725 In a disaster, however, you start with all of the interest 140 00:05:25,725 --> 00:05:27,408 and none of the capacity. 141 00:05:27,408 --> 00:05:29,842 And you've only got about seven days to capture 142 00:05:29,842 --> 00:05:33,141 50 percent of all of the Web searches that will ever be made 143 00:05:33,141 --> 00:05:34,408 to help your area. 144 00:05:34,408 --> 00:05:35,842 Then some sporting event happens, 145 00:05:35,842 --> 00:05:38,674 and you've got only the resources that you've collected thus far 146 00:05:38,674 --> 00:05:42,121 to meet the next five years of recovery needs. 147 00:05:42,121 --> 00:05:44,309 This is the slide for Katrina. 148 00:05:44,309 --> 00:05:46,758 This is the curve for Joplin. 149 00:05:46,758 --> 00:05:50,317 And this is the curve for the Dallas tornadoes in April 150 00:05:50,317 --> 00:05:51,691 where we deployed software. 151 00:05:51,691 --> 00:05:53,107 There's a gap here. 152 00:05:53,107 --> 00:05:56,808 Affected households have to wait for the insurance adjuster to visit 153 00:05:56,808 --> 00:05:59,208 before they can start accepting help on their properties. 154 00:05:59,208 --> 00:06:03,196 And you've only got about four days of interest in Dallas. 155 00:06:03,196 --> 00:06:04,910 MO: Data. 156 00:06:04,910 --> 00:06:07,042 Data is inherently unsexy, 157 00:06:07,042 --> 00:06:08,610 but it can jumpstart an area's recovery. 158 00:06:08,610 --> 00:06:10,126 FEMA and the state 159 00:06:10,126 --> 00:06:13,542 will pay 85 percent of the cost of a federally declared disaster, 160 00:06:13,542 --> 00:06:16,259 leaving the town to pay last 15 percent of the bill. 161 00:06:16,259 --> 00:06:17,942 Now that expense can be huge, 162 00:06:17,942 --> 00:06:21,876 but if the town can mobilize X amount of volunteers for Y hours, 163 00:06:21,876 --> 00:06:24,259 the dollar value of that labor used 164 00:06:24,259 --> 00:06:26,460 goes toward the town's contribution. 165 00:06:26,460 --> 00:06:28,010 But who knows that? 166 00:06:28,010 --> 00:06:30,743 Now try to imagine the sinking feeling you get 167 00:06:30,743 --> 00:06:34,626 when you've just sent out 2,000 volunteers and you can't prove it. 168 00:06:34,626 --> 00:06:37,642 CO: These are three problems with a common solution. 169 00:06:37,642 --> 00:06:40,629 If we can get the right tools at the right time 170 00:06:40,629 --> 00:06:42,913 to the people who will inevitably step up 171 00:06:42,913 --> 00:06:44,598 and start putting their communities back together, 172 00:06:44,598 --> 00:06:47,449 we can create new standards in disaster recovery. 173 00:06:47,449 --> 00:06:50,731 MO: We needed canvasing tools, donations databasing, 174 00:06:50,731 --> 00:06:53,829 needs reporting, remote volunteer access, 175 00:06:53,829 --> 00:06:55,964 all in an easy-to-use website. 176 00:06:55,964 --> 00:06:57,230 CO: And we needed help. 177 00:06:57,230 --> 00:07:00,130 Alvin, our software engineer and cofounder, has built these tools. 178 00:07:00,130 --> 00:07:01,814 Chris and Bill have volunteered their time 179 00:07:01,814 --> 00:07:04,465 to use operations and partnerships. 180 00:07:04,465 --> 00:07:07,814 And we've been flying into disaster areas since this past January, 181 00:07:07,814 --> 00:07:10,179 setting up software, training residents 182 00:07:10,179 --> 00:07:14,597 and licensing the software to areas that are preparing for disasters. 183 00:07:14,597 --> 00:07:17,996 MO: One of our first launches was after the Dallas tornadoes this past April. 184 00:07:17,996 --> 00:07:21,648 We flew into a town that had a static outdated website 185 00:07:21,648 --> 00:07:24,131 and a frenetic Facebook feed trying to structure the response. 186 00:07:24,131 --> 00:07:25,430 And we launched our platform. 187 00:07:25,430 --> 00:07:27,615 All of the interest came in the first four days, 188 00:07:27,615 --> 00:07:29,299 but by the time they lost the news cycle, 189 00:07:29,299 --> 00:07:30,931 that's when the needs came in, 190 00:07:30,931 --> 00:07:33,996 yet they had this massive resource of what people were able to give 191 00:07:33,996 --> 00:07:36,148 and they've been able to meet the needs of their residents. 192 00:07:36,148 --> 00:07:38,297 CO: So it's working, but it could be better. 193 00:07:38,297 --> 00:07:42,197 Emergency preparedness is a big deal in disaster recovery 194 00:07:42,197 --> 00:07:44,745 because it makes towns safer and more resilient. 195 00:07:44,745 --> 00:07:47,212 Imagine if we could have these systems ready to go in a place 196 00:07:47,212 --> 00:07:49,296 before a disaster. 197 00:07:49,296 --> 00:07:51,629 So that's what we're working on. 198 00:07:51,629 --> 00:07:53,580 We're working on getting the software to places 199 00:07:53,580 --> 00:07:55,745 so people expect it, so people know how to use it 200 00:07:55,745 --> 00:07:57,362 and so it can be filled ahead of time 201 00:07:57,362 --> 00:07:59,980 with that microinformation that drives recovery. 202 00:07:59,980 --> 00:08:01,482 MO: It's not rocket science. 203 00:08:01,482 --> 00:08:04,181 These tools are obvious and people want them. 204 00:08:04,181 --> 00:08:06,530 In our hometown, we trained a half-dozen residents 205 00:08:06,530 --> 00:08:08,513 to run these Web tools on their own. 206 00:08:08,513 --> 00:08:10,797 Because Caitria and I live here in Boston. 207 00:08:10,797 --> 00:08:12,147 They took to it immediately, 208 00:08:12,147 --> 00:08:13,795 and now they are forces of nature. 209 00:08:13,795 --> 00:08:16,514 There are over three volunteer groups working almost every day, 210 00:08:16,514 --> 00:08:18,731 and have been since June 1st of last year, 211 00:08:18,731 --> 00:08:21,997 to make sure that these residents get what they need and get back in their homes. 212 00:08:21,997 --> 00:08:24,830 They have hotlines and spreadsheets and data. 213 00:08:24,830 --> 00:08:26,397 CO: And that makes a difference. 214 00:08:26,397 --> 00:08:29,147 June 1st this year marked the one-year anniversary 215 00:08:29,147 --> 00:08:30,696 of the Monson tornado. 216 00:08:30,696 --> 00:08:33,945 And our community's never been more connected or more empowered. 217 00:08:33,945 --> 00:08:35,963 We've been able to see the same transformation 218 00:08:35,963 --> 00:08:38,014 in Texas and in Alabama. 219 00:08:38,014 --> 00:08:40,180 Because it doesn't take Harvard or MIT 220 00:08:40,180 --> 00:08:42,579 to fly in and fix problems after a disaster, 221 00:08:42,579 --> 00:08:43,847 it takes a local. 222 00:08:43,847 --> 00:08:46,430 No matter how good an aid organization is at what they do, 223 00:08:46,430 --> 00:08:48,096 they eventually have to go home. 224 00:08:48,096 --> 00:08:50,079 But if you give locals the tools, 225 00:08:50,079 --> 00:08:53,212 if you show them what they can do to recover, 226 00:08:53,212 --> 00:08:56,946 they become experts. 227 00:08:56,946 --> 00:08:59,528 (Applause) MO: All right. Let's go. 228 00:08:59,533 --> 00:09:01,645 (Applause)