Rebuilding Homes-Google & NASA/Haiti

Independent Films, Web Series, Technology, Social Responsibility Movies

The World Bank in Haiti has partnered with NASA and Google to carry out the country’s reconstruction following last year’s earthquake. What would be a painstaking job of assessing the damage to hundreds of thousands of homes is being aided by satellite images which assess damaged areas and direct the reconstruction work of some 270 government engineers.

The Delma 32 neighbourhood was among areas hardest hit by last year’s quake. Here urban planners and Delma leaders are determining ways of making the area better than before the earthquake.

Transcripts / Production notes / Scripts

Housing assessments and community projects in Haiti are slowly but surely helping reconstruct the country, devastated by last year’s earthquake, and affected neighbourhoods are getting involved in the decision making process.

When the earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince last year, many houses collapsed around the home of 72-year old Jeanne Bousiko.

She’d been worried since then that her house might fall too due to structural damage. So she welcomed the government engineers who’ve finally come to assess the place she shares with her six children and grandchildren.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Jeanne Bousiko, Home Owner:
“It is a good thing, because if you had seen something dangerous you would have said so.”

Jeanne’s house is one of nearly 400,000 already assessed for damage in Haiti by 270 government engineers, as part of the country’s reconstruction effort supported by the World Bank and its donor partners.

The engineers are trained to spot houses which are safe and tagged green, like Jeanne’s. Others which are not are tagged red.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Ronald Beauzile, Chief Engineer:
“If the pillars and columns are damaged the house is tagged red, if it is wall damage it gets tagged yellow.”

All this information is recorded by the engineers on the spot, using hand held GPS devices, which allow them to store the data.

This assessment information is fed into a large buildings data base compiled right after the earthquake by the World Bank in partnership with NASA and Google, on the basis of satellite images.

Such data-based plans take into account the suggestions of the different neighbourhoods involved, through a World Bank community project which gathers residents, local officials, and urban planners. The project will upgrade community infrastructure and repair and rebuild several thousand homes.

The Delma 32 neighbourhood was among areas hardest hit by last year’s quake.

Here urban planners and Delma leaders are determining ways of making the area better than before the earthquake.

Such community- visions are being drafted into action plans, which - in the case of Delma 32 - are soon to be implemented.

SOUNDBITE (Creole) Romelus Dufran, Delma 32 Community Leader:
“We are putting all our energy into collaborating with the project because we know it is beneficial for us.”

Under the same World Bank program, neighbourhoods will benefit from further upgrades and housing reconstruction in 2011as well, through resources provided by the US through the Haiti Reconstruction Fund.

Topping Delma’s list of needs are better water and sanitation services, more green spaces, and new housing for the hundreds who’ve lost their homes.

Tags

• nasa
• Google
• haiti
• rebuilding homes
• earthquake

Directors:

• Tom Osborne, UNTV

Producers:

• Muhamed Sacirbey