MIT's Media Lab Hacks Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy photo by masukomi via Flickr

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a team of programmers at MIT got together to help think up recovery solutions, and Hurricane Hackers was born.

Using a shared Google doc, the hackers began consolidating information sources and brainstorming projects to help those stranded by the storm. They’ve already developed an incredible crowdsourced, rich-media timeline of the key events as hurricane Sandy unfolded, and many of their other projects have promise, from the a map of all available charging stations in New York, to de-Instagramming photos to help them be better used for analysis, to the #SandyAid hashtag on Twitter, which will help those looking to address non-emergency concerns.

Interested hackers can sign up to join them online via @HurricaneHackrs, or attend a CrisisCommons event this weekend at MIT’s Media Lab. It’s free and open to the public, and starts at 10:30 a.m on Saturday, Nov. 3.