Follow up on the 14Oct2020 SHEAR Workshop on 'Exploring the potential of mobile phones and apps for the crowdsourcing of data and hazard communication' : STH experience in using Whats App as a tool in this regard

STH formed 'HAZARD ALERTS  or HA' a Whats App group 5 years ago with the intention of alerting communities in the Darjeeling-Sikkim region on hazards, heavy rain, landslides and other relevant serious environmental threats. Since then HA has grown to become a large (228 members) group with people from all walks of life and all over the world being members even tho the majority are from the Darjeeling-Sikkim region. We have approx 22 PhDs, government officials, army officers, students, farmers and a large number of media personnel and NGOs in the group.
On 14OCt 2020, STH had taken part in a SHEAR workshop on 'Exploring the potential of mobile phones and apps for the crowdsourcing of data and hazard communication' where we talked about our experience in HAZARD ALERTS and how it has grown into a major information and alerting hub in the region.
The 5 min long presentation on HA made by Dr Nima Doma Lama and myself is now on the SHEAR You tube channel
SHEAR has also written an academic paper and made a summary video that have now been published.

Praful Rao
Kalimpong District,
Darjeeling -Sikkim Himalaya