Coconino County, federal agencies team up on backcountry alert system for Grand Canyon

Health communication systems designed for rural, developing countries -- where hospitals are often understaffed and transportation is inadequate -- are being adapted to improve care in U.S. cities.

Oxfam is working to prevent a drought in Ethiopa by insuring crops of farmers, causing them to have a greater desire to work in the agricultural market.

Refugio, Texas was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, leaving behind damaged houses, schools and businesses and people who can not afford to rebuild their lives. However, this town has used its community and found strength in their love of football and their support of one another to keep moving forward.

FEMA’s response to Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Irma has been the “longest sustained domestic airborne food and water mission in the nation’s history. The agency has never distributed more food or installed more generators.” However, due to bureaucracy and delayed decision making, there are still thousands of Puerto Ricans who have not received aid, or were underserved.

Crime-tracking mobile apps give millions of Brazilians crowdsourced data on urban violence, alerting people to dangerous places and filling gaps in government data on shootings, robberies, and other risks. But apps such as Fogo Cruzado (“Crossfire”) and Onde Tem Tiroteio (“Where There's a Shooting”) offer statistically crude glimpses of crime, distorted by media and racial biases that one expert blames for myths about the risks people actually face.

Contact tracing apps have received a lot of attention since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but researchers caution they should be used in conjunction with other tactics and not be relied on to help on their own. However, an early study has indicated that even when only fifteen percent of the population downloads a contact tracing app, infection rates are reduced by eight percent and deaths are reduced by six percent.

Two insurance companies, Discovery and Dialdirect, implemented a smartphone app for drivers to report potholes in their city. The companies then fill the potholes and brand them with their logos.

Residents of North Cove, Washington, are rebuilding their eroded coastal beaches with a form of dynamic revetments in which long cobble berms are deposited along the beach. The rocks cause waves to slow and drop sand instead of crashing into the coastline and eroding it.

An app called Visis translates text and photos to speech to help Nigerian people with visual impairments to live their lives independently.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, several community-led organizations are joining forces to help those in need by gathering and distributing supply donations and helping those affected apply for FEMA assistance, unemployment and other relief support.