The Problem to Solve
Global warming is increasing the ferocity of extreme weather events all over the world. Many island nations, cities, and communities are impacted more than most, despite the fact that they emit very little greenhouse gases, and are normally densely covered with trees. It is unfair, it is unjust, but it is a reality for these people who have done more than most to preserve the natural wonders of the world.
Where the CAMS project started
CAMS can be traced back to Hurricane Maria on the Caribbean Island of Dominica. In September 2017, Hurricane Maria suddenly strengthened up to a category five storm as it hit Dominica causing widespread devastation.
Five days after the storm hit, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit addressed the United Nations General Assembly.
“I come to you straight from the front line of the war on climate change,
“In the past, we would prepare for one heavy storm a year. Now, thousands of storms form on a breeze in the mid-Atlantic and line up to pound us with maximum force and fury.”
Together with the United Nations and advisory group ARISE-US, Dominica decided to build back stronger and focus on disaster resilience to help improve its response to extreme weather events. Which is where CAMS began.
Will we achieve the Paris Agreement targets?
The Paris Agreement saw world leaders pledge to limit global warming to well below 2°C, but with other concerns like war, trade agreements, and domestic issues, can these leaders maintain focus to meet or exceed these promises?
According to an article published on nature.com, by 2060, based on the current global warming trajectory, the Earth will heat up by between 3-6°C, which is huge.
What does this mean for vulnerable populations?
Quite simply, more disasters. There will be more frequent storms, heatwaves, wildfires, and many more catastrophes. These will result in disruption and chaos to sanitation, access to clean drinking water, power, medical supplies, communications, and food production and supply.
In short, many thousands of people will lose their lives.
The problem we’re solving
While CAMS cannot change climate change, this is a job for every person, we can help islands, cities, and communities become disaster resilient to speed up recovery and saves lives. By using technology we can help disaster resilience professionals plan for every eventuality. The main problems islands, cities, and communities face is not being able to fully:
- Identify all critical assets which could affect its disaster resilience.
- Understand the risk that each asset faces and how well placed it is to deal with that risk.
- Understand how assets are interconnected and the chained consequences that may result.
- Utilize data in a format that is usable and functional to first responders and other disaster resilience stakeholders.
Solving these problems will lay the foundation for disaster resilience.
Are you interested in helping? We'd love to welcome you to contribute.
If you’re interested in helping good people, learning new technologies, and working with other like-minded folks, volunteer for the CAMS open-source project. We’re seeking backend and frontend developers, marketing professionals, and anyone else interested in spreading the word about it.