Natural or man-made, disasters bring chaos. Be part of the rescue team by building Bluemix apps that shape and speed the recovery.

The immediate and long term impact of any disaster, man-made or natural, is hard to quantify. Media coverage highlights the immediate aftermath as people and businesses directly affected by the event deal with their new reality. But after the journalists go home, recovery efforts remain. From the first few days to sometimes years afterwards, the people, businesses, communities, relief organizations continue struggling with the repercussions.

From the sidelines, watching news reports or following affected persons on social media, you can feel overwhelmed and helpless. How can you make a difference from hundreds or thousands of miles away?

Becoming part of the rescue team from miles away is what the Bluemixathon challenge is all about. You don’t have to be a trained professional or volunteer on the ground to make a difference.

This challenge is to use your coding skills and Bluemix services to use communications to help prevent and manage disasters. Some of issues to address are obvious, like getting water and food to those affected by tsunamis or earthquakes. And some are less obvious, but just as crucial, like enabling refugee children to continue their education. But also consider how mobile applications can help reduce the likelihood of crisis, such as through identifying and communicating local risks, or providing information on key government services in advance of crisis.

We’ve focused this challenge on four distinct groups impacted by any disaster. Build an app, using at least one Bluemix service, to help one of the following groups:

Persons immediately impacted by the disaster. For example, people who have lost or had to leave their homes due to natural or man-made disasters. This group also includes people who lose their job because their place of employment was directly impacted.
Families, friends, colleagues of individuals impacted by the disaster. For example, individuals trying to contact or provide assistance to loved ones caught in the disaster.
First responders and backend support teams, including healthcare organizations. For example, firefighters, police officers, volunteer community teams, military personnel, etc., dealing with the immediate impact in the first few days after the event.
Groups and relief organizations dedicated to long term rebuilding activities. This includes businesses, government agencies, national/international relief organizations, church groups, etc.

Unsure how to begin? Just look at how Caitria and Morgan O’Neill stepped up in the face of disaster in their hometown. With the power of Bluemix services at your fingertips – how much more could you do?

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