Block chain proof-of-concept can facilitate a more rapid and reliable capture of data in crisis situations. Why Block chain?
Disaster relief is a complicated human network, there's a lot of manual intervention involved and consequently, a lot of time is lost in the whole process. What it’s needed is a really efficient way to share information and data in real time with the people who are trying to solve problems, who want to do their jobs efficiently and to do it quickly.
In exploring technological solutions to crises, Block chain was found to be very useful when natural disaster events occur. For example, in countries where recently experienced devastating earthquakes, as Mexico, Haiti, or Turkey, in addition to suffering many casualties, lots of buildings were destroyed and damaged an enormous amount of property, as well.
Almost every country, to some degree, relies on paper records that aren’t backed up digitally. These documents are stored in municipal buildings, many of which suffered significant demolition or were completely destroyed cause natural disasters. Without paper files, there is no way to determine who owned what, and in many cases, ID papers are lost too, as just experienced by Mexican people last September. Paper documents are susceptible to fraud or to be easily altered. Needless to say, the inability to maintain property ownership through a natural disaster hurts public confidence in the government and economy.
By simply computerising this surveillance data, encrypting it directly from local sources onto a Block chain concept, it could be restored together, cleaned up, and legalised. Ownership of property represented by a Blockchain token enables simple, error-free. This will make titleholders feel more secure in their property and confident they can pass it down through generations.
Another example is the recently experienced catastrophe in Houston area and Puerto Rico Island, that were devastated by the force of hurricanes. To recover from this disasters health relief effort, as treating the at-risk patients, being exposed to standing water for several days, or being potentially unprotected to some deadly virus, Blockchain processes were applied to determine, for example, the need to take suitable vaccinations or medication.
The information captured in a Blockchain system could be made available from a Department of Health to any human services, as local public health agencies, hospitals, pharmacies – involved in the disaster relief efforts.
Conclusion:
Many disasters-relieve agencies believe there is real promise in Blockchain technology. A disaster response and the dissimilar nature of the actors involved – multitude volunteers, local governments, local health workers, contractors, etc. – means that a collective, decentralised and real-time digitalised-record tool as Block chain, has significant value over crisis relief.
Dave Food