Marufish World of Disaster PreventionHow to use Google Map for S.O.S during flood

During last December 2021 Big Flood in Central Malaysia, many flood victims posted their S.O.S messages on social media for help as they are unable to reach the authorities via the emergency number 999 or other emergency contacts. Unfortunately, the type of SOS messages that they posted were rather unhelpful during the emergency.

Take an example below, the victims ask their relatives to share their Name, Contact Number, and Address on the public FB pages/groups. This was rather risky as they are exposing their personal details in the public space which might cause them to fall victims to scammers, hackers, etc. Malaysian are always “Kita Jaga Kita”, there were more than 600+ shares of this particular message by the other FB users and it further expose this sensitive information elsewhere. And there are tones of this kind of messages circulating in social media whenever the disaster hit.

Figure 1. S.O.S message posted on FB page during Big Central Flood in Malaysia. The floodwater already reached the entire ground floor with the desperate flood victims waiting for help on the roof. Hope the victims were safe during the flood (Photo Source: Facebook Page)

On top of the personal data protection issue, these messages were unhelpful to assist the victims as most of the mobile was out of service or drain out of battery, while the majority of the Search & Rescue teams were not familiar with the area, thus providing the address of the victim was a bad idea. If you look at the situation in detail, you can easily notice some of the problems if you provide only the contact number and address:

As the floodwater was already flooded the ground floor, the rescuer was unable to identify the road/street of the area.
House numbers were unable to be identified as they were submerged underwater
The number of victims at one particular location was unknown
Reaching the flood victims and evacuating them was risky
lacking information on any special needs/assistance such as bedridden elderly, disabled victims, etc.

Sharing of Location Information when Disaster Hit

Most Google User are unaware that there is a useful S.O.S function built in the Google Map that the victims can send SOS messages whenever the disaster hit. The function is helping to protect your personal privacy when you are sending the SOS message to others. During the Big Flood event, I noticed there was an Alert on my Google Map (figure 2) when I was trapped in the traffic jam at NKVE as the highway at Shah Alam was flooded and closed.

Figure 2. Red Alert icon on the Google Map. Clicking on the flood icon will bring up more functions for the user.

On top of viewing the traffic and closing road situation on the Google Map, you can click on the “Central Malaysia floods” link to check the latest news update on the disaster (figure 3). Knowing the latest development of the disaster is a very important factor to plan your next steps in order to avoid the catastrophe, evacuate, or safely arrive at home.

Figure 3. Details update on the flood event at the Central Malaysia floods

You will notice there was a “Share location” button in figure 2. by clicking on the Share location, which is similar to sending SOS messages to your family members, relatives, friends, colleagues, asking for help.

Figure 4. Sharing your current location to various people, sites, etc. calling for assistance.

Once you click on the Share location, Google Map will automatically capture your latest GPS location. There are two options for the user to share your real-time location for a period of time, or until you turn off the function manually (figure 4). The user also has the options to whom you are sharing your location and the social media platform that you are sharing. User is provided with control over how their personal information is going to be shared for assistance.

Figure 5. Details on how your real-time location information is shared. People will be able to see your Name, Photo, and real-time location, etc.

Figure 6. A warning message will pop up before you proceed to share your location information.

Figure 7. One of the examples is when I shared my current location via WhatsApp. My suggestion is don’t just share your location information when you are sending SOS messages, kindly add more detailed information such as the number of victims, kind of assistant, etc.

The recipient who has the URL link to your real-time location will be able to know your status, mobile battery, etc. via the Google Map.

Figure 8a. Location of the person who sends the SOS message on the Google Map. People will be able to see your address, GPS location on map, and battery status.

Figure 8b. Right-click on the mouse, you will be able to check on the GPS coordinates (Latitude, Longitude) of the sender. On Mobile Apps, the user needs to click on the location for a few seconds until the “red pin” dropped on the map, you will be able to find the GPS coordinates on the “Search bar” on the top of the App.

The GPS location (Figure 8b) will be particularly helpful for the SAR operations because, after the disaster strikes, most of the landmarks are already gone, damaged, or submerged. Once your need or assistance is met, please remember to turn off the location sharing function if you set to disable it manually.

The Google Map “Location sharing” function is very helpful for sending the SOS, and the privacy of the sender is taken care of. However, I believe with slight modification the system can be upgraded for the application of disaster management for both the authorities and other stakeholders, such as NGOs, and providing effective SAR and resource allocation during the disaster. Disaster is unavoidable, but we can be more well prepared in order to reduce the risks and damages.

Sharing of Location information during Emergency

Not all emergency is caused by a natural disaster, the Google Map user can activate a similar location sharing function in an emergency where you can ask for help from your family and friends via social media. You can activate Location Sharing by clicking on your profile photo at the top right corner of the Google Map app. From the pop-up menu (figure 9), select the “Location sharing” function.

Figure 9. Activating the Location Sharing function on Google Map by clicking on the Profile Photo on the top right corner of the app. Select “Location sharing” on the pop up menu.

You are going to go through a similar process and setting requirements like what has been shown in figure 4-7. I have conducted another test using the timer by limiting the Location sharing within an hour. After an hour when I click on the similar URL link, the system automatically prohibits access to the sender’s information, which is useful to protect the privacy of the user if they forget to turn off the function (figure 10).

Figure 10. The location sharing function is disabled after the effective sharing hour set by the sender.

Suggestions for the improvement of the SOS messaging function in Google Map during the flood event

Create an online Disaster SOS map by compiling all the SOS messages and pinpointing their locations that can be accessed by the authority and NGOs that conducting SAR operations or supply goods to the victims
Classified the location point by colors depends on the needs and urgency
Enable the user to add more details when sending SOS messages, such as
- Identify whether it is an Evacuation or request for Necessity items

Evacuation:

— Number of adults:

— Number of Children:

— Number of disabled victims (or additional assistance needed, eg. medical):

— Currently located at ground floor/ second floor/ third floor and above:

— Estimated water level at the entrance (in meter):

Request for necessity items:

— Number of adults:

— Number of Children:

— Number of infants:

— Diapers/ Milk powder etc.: Yes/ No

— Adult Diapers: Yes/ No

— Clothes: Yes/ No

— Medicine & others:

Once evacuated, or the item received. The user can turn off their request, or the assistant agencies can remove the request from the map.

The database of the SOS messages should be recorded and updated frequently. By compiling the number of victims, necessity items, etc. will enable those aid agencies to effectively mobilize the necessary resources to assist the flood victims.