The events that took place in the followingmath of the devastating earthquake that struck the Turkish and Syrian lands a few days ago proved that smart phones and social media applications played a major role in saving a large number of people from imminent death.
These phones, and through the applications available on them, provided an opportunity for many people trapped under the rubble, to be able to request help and convey their reality and suffering to the whole world, and this gave an image of what technology can contribute to doing following the occurrence of natural disasters.
The benefit of holding on to the phone
Technical analyst Hisham Al-Natour said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that the recent events have proven that the smartphone is not just a tool for communication, but also a life-saving force in times of disaster, as if it were not for these phones and the communication applications available on them, many of the injured would be trapped. They died without anyone knowing regarding them.
He pointed out that the users’ attachment and adherence to their phones, and not leaving them in their hands in normal times, contributed to making them present in their hands when the earthquake occurred, following which it turned into a rescue tool.
According to Al Natour, rapid communication in times of disasters is one of the most important forms of aid, and this is what smart phones and social media applications contributed to, which delivered information quickly and in real time, while some of the pioneers of communication sites turned into volunteers who contributed to spreading information on wide range, and its delivery to the party capable of helping on the ground, pointing out that the most technical device that can help users in times of distress is the smart phone, given its availability in the hands of most people compared to other smart devices.
types of earthquakes
The phone plays the role of a guide
Al-Natour explains that the smartphone played the role of a guide for relief agencies, enabling them to locate the whereregardings of some of the besieged and follow them to reach their whereregardings, while the live broadcast and messaging services available in social networking applications made it possible to request help and communicate the true picture of the condition of the person seeking help, calling for Imagine what it would be like to be one of those people trapped under tons of concrete without a smartphone.
For her part, Dadi Geagea, a specialist in mobile applications and digital marketing, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia that food and water have always been considered among the most important vital resources that humans need to survive during disasters, but following recent events, technology can be added to these factors. Given her contribution to relief efforts and paving the way for the aid of people, no one knew that they were alive, noting that the technology embodied in the smartphone and the applications available on it gave hope to those who had almost no chances of survival.
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Supportive and rescue role
Geagea stressed that the role of social media applications was not limited to helping those trapped under the rubble, as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok turned from platforms for publishing personal photos and entertaining videos into a valuable tool that urges the provision of medical and in-kind assistance and donation, and guides those who want help to The right places for that, which indicates the supportive and rescue role that these platforms can play in times of distress.
According to Dadi Geagea, social media and smartphones have revolutionized communication during disasters, but with that, phone manufacturers can increase the capabilities of these devices to act as transformational tools in emergency situations.
